Blue Sky (青雲)
by Maplez12
Summary: She was a gentle soul incapable of inflicting harm. Fate had it that she was born carrying a heritage that deemed her suitable for the cold-blooded profession. She was an outsider, an unexpected anomaly – wanted but unwanted. A pacifist earned herself another to teach her the ropes. Will she be influenced, or will she influenced the cold world no one ever bothered to? !OC
1. Prologue

**Blue Sky (** **青雲** **)**

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 _"Strength brought people together. The strong protects the weak. The stronger teaches the strong. The strongest brought destruction."_

 _—Unknown Elder_

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 **Prologue: Blue Sky (** **青雲** **)**

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 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

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The Hokage's office was again filled with stacks of paperworks, a strong reminder how politics successfully disarmed even the strongest shinobi more often than not. Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. He couldn't begin to comprehend how he had to be the one to complete all these papers without a helping hand. Why did Tobirama-sensei propose him as the Hokage again? He found himself lamenting his sensei these days, when the paperworks amounted to the Hokage's mountain.

"Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen looked up from his papers, glad that he had another situation to address besides that blasphemy of blacks and whites. It was about time for Team Ro to return and they did, with the absence of the team's Captain itself. He arched an eyebrow at this. The mission Team Ro was given was a sensitive one, involving the Land of Earth as the primary location for the mission's objective, which could land him in at least a week's worth of paperworks was it not handled properly. He sincerely prayed that was not the reason of why his silver-haired subordinate was not present for debriefing.

"Team Ro reporting for debriefing. The mission is successfully completed. However, Kakashi-taichou came across a peculiar situation and thus decided to investigate further in Tokino village." Neko reported. The three-men team were on their knees, one leg folded on the floor in a common stance of ANBU reporting for duty as they faced the wooden planks.

Hiruzen huffed, his tobacco pipe in his hand. "And this peculiar situation you speak of?" he gazed deep into his subordinates, expecting answers. He knew for a fact that his successor's student wouldn't do anything unnecessary unless otherwise. He could only hope this situation wasn't a bad one.

"...Kakashi-taichou found a little girl - no older than five years old based on her appearances - bearing a strong resemblance to Konoha's shinobi in Tokino Village." Neko hesitated, knowing full well the sensitivity of the issue. The security of the village itself was involved, they couldn't tread carelessly.

Konohagakure no Satō had strict rules on shinobi's work ethics, one of which detailing on the subject of procreation outside of the village's walls. Shinobi's offsprings were to be born and raised within the village and when the former was unavoidable, the latter was absolute. This was to prevent any breach of kekkei genkai or clan's techniques that might be attainable by birth, and possible relations which could threaten the village's safety.

While some of the shinobi's rules were merely guidances and were largely loose on the punishments, certain rules were to be obeyed and necessary actions were carried where the offender was found guilty, including this one rule. The consequences varied depending on the condition of the child's conception to the child as an individual. In all cases however, the child was to be raised in Konoha.

Which meant another round of paperworks for Hiruzen. Depending on the child's lineage, he might even have to call a clans meeting and the council might need to be informed. He sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

"...The child shows evidence of possessing a kekkei genkai, Hokage-sama." Neko continued, unaware of his leader's inner conflict. He was never good at discerning emotions.

And there went Hiruzen's hope, dashed and left in the dust. He already felt the incoming headaches, the paperworks, the meetings and hours of endless discussions. "Possibility of this being the case?" he managed without a sigh.

Neko looked up at this, his eyes resting on the old Hokage's weary yet sharp gaze through the holes in his porcelain mask. "92%, Hokage-sama." he spoke before he bowed his head.

This time, he sighed. A child. Possessing kekkei genkai, which usually also meant having prominent shinobi as parents and belonging to a clan with its own rules and traditions. A good thing under normal circumstances, a headache-inducing otherwise. This was the latter. Whoever was dumb enough to cause such problems, Hiruzen would have a nice, long talk with later.

"And the suspected kekkei genkai?" he questioned, his stare hard and unrelenting.

Neko shifted slightly, showing his discomfort at the whole situation and what he was about to report. One thing for sure, his Hokage wouldn't take it too well. He knew his senpai didn't, which was why he stayed in the small village and sent the team ahead for debriefing. Or maybe his senpai just didn't want to be on the receiving end of the Hokage's ire for being the person who delivered the report.

Hiruzen knew it was a sensitive matter where kekkei genkai and the village's safety was involved, and he was glad that the silver-haired shinobi took it upon himself to get it settled. Now though, which clan's head was he supposed to call after this report? Neko clearly stated the case to be 'suspected kekkei genkai', and there were only a handful of such within Konoha, none was preferable. After what seemed to be minutes, was his question answered.

"...It's the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan, Hokage-sama."

 **-o o-**

Hatake Kakashi didn't expect to be in this situation when he and his team completed his mission and on their way home to the village. Exactly three days ago, Team Ro arrived at a small settlement half-way on their route to Konoha, a farming village, Tokino village. It was supposed to be a casual break, a fifteen-minutes rest, away from the villagers' prying eyes. That was until a little girl stumbled on her stroll and towards his feet. The very moment she raised her head and stared into the holes of his mask, he knew she was trouble.

Now on their way to Konoha, civilian's pace through the civilian's roads, Kakashi had his hand holding the little girl, who would otherwise tripped and fell for every ten steps she took. There're about four more days before they reached Konoha's gates, considering the girl needed her naps to the addition of sleep. Children were handful, he decided. He could hardly handle one, he didn't think he would survive having more.

In his early careers, Kakashi had to take baby-sitting mission with his team, and he never really lifted a finger. His sensei was amazing enough with those stuffs, his brazen teammate was unexpectedly capable with children and the kunoichi of the team was a mother's materials. He didn't really need to bother at all back then. And now he was alone. Depressing thoughts.

"Inu-san," she tugged at his hand to earn his attention, "tell me more about Konoha, please?" she tilted her head adorably, staring at the masked shinobi with her eyes twinkling with childish interest.

Difficult missions with high risk, Kakashi could deal with, not this. He had been subjected to those shining eyes for three days now, and every time, he fell short before those huge white pupil-less eyes with a hint of sapphire in the depth. Really, he swore that it was a kinjutsu she was using. So unfair. Perhaps staying behind was a wrong choice in his part? He should have had the female ANBU in his team to do it instead.

"Eh... Let's see..." he drawled. What other information was the girl allowed to know when she had yet to confirm her position in the village? These past days he had indulged her some general infos, Konoha was to be her new living place after all, she deserved to know that at least. "There's an Academy for young hopeful shinobi..." he secretly glanced at the smaller girl, hoping to detect her reaction.

"Academy?" she parroted with bubbling excitement in her eyes, her eyes were most expressive. People said they had a hard time trying to discern her emotions if not for her eyes. "What's that?" she asked, her tone hopeful.

Kakashi hummed for a moment, thinking the best way to deliver the piece of vital information to the little girl - she was a potential shinobi candidate, with her Byakugan and her backstory he managed to get from her on their second day - he needed to word it so as to catch her interest and subtly push her into the decision.

Pity really, he wouldn't wish such a harsh life for the kindhearted girl she was, but a choice was a luxury she couldn't afford. The snow-haired girl wouldn't even kill an ant, her adoptive mother confirmed him this. These past three days Kakashi had to hunt for food when he had ration bars with him. After being trusted by her former guardian for her well-being, he couldn't get his young companion to eat said ration that could affect her growth negatively.

And when he served whatever animal he sacked that day, she would solemnly expressed her thanks towards the poor soul and persistently reminded him to do the same. She was too kind, too naïve and inexperienced to the cold truth of the world. To be a shinobi would mean she had to take a life on some point, and proceed to do more from there onwards.

"Mmhmm... I taught you about chakra and the twelve-basic-hand seals, didn't I? The Academy is a place to learn and practice those hand seals, to properly use chakra and many more. To be a proud Konoha shinobi." Kakashi smiled behind his mask, feeling the girl's inquisitive stare on him, he continued. "'Shinobi are those who protect the village, for their loved ones', I told you this before, right? You learn how to protect at the Academy."

Kakashi recalled his surprise when the little girl asked him upfront, what was a shinobi, and when given answer, she further asked what was it that shinobi were protecting the people from. He remembered he was momentarily stunned. How could he tell her it was mostly from enemy shinobi? What other difficult question would he get then? In the end he settled for the basic and vague truth; bad things. After which she stopped asking. The girl was smart enough to realise she wouldn't get any other answer out of him.

"Do I have to go too? To this Academy." she questioned quietly, her gaze sweeping the ground she was walking on. Her mind was whirling with questions and doubts as her steps grew heavy.

Why did it seem like she wouldn't get much say in her own life? It was probably the slight hint of surprise her shinobi escort had in his eyes when she told him the first and last weird 'activation' thing with her eyes was when she was three. He controlled his expression in a split second but she knew she didn't mistake it. He inquired first, if she ever tried channelling the newly learned term, 'chakra', to her eyes before. She didn't know what this 'chakra' was referring to, and turned out it was what her people would call 'life force'.

"When you are older, perhaps." Kakashi replied, looking forward instead of at his little companion. In truth, he knew it would happen.

Kakashi could clearly recall the girl's first attempt at forming the basic hand seals, and boy, was it atrocious. Maybe it was her baby limbs simply refusing to cooperate, that or she was born with the most horrendous hand-eye-coordination he'd ever seen. Each and every one was sloppy, and she couldn't construct them together in an acceptable pace for even children her age. Granted, he was comparing her with shinobi children who had begun their training but she was still a lot worse.

Her chakra control however, was beyond prodigious; activating her Byakugan without a single hand seal, with neither proper knowledge of the possibility at the tender age of three. She breezed through the unprecedented feat of activating the Byakugan with only half of the required hand seals at the young age of five that made Hyūga Neji the prodigy of the Hyūga Clan, limited only by his birth as a cadet branch member.

It was still too early to decide on her hand-to-hand combat skills, but judging from how she could trip over her own feet in a perfectly flat surface, he would say she had chronic balance issues. Unless the girl could somehow cure that her inherent trait of hers, then it'd be suffice to say she wouldn't get far in that specific area. But with what he had gathered, he knew that the little child was a diamond in the rough, she had enough talent to net her early admission to the Academy if any of the higher-ups declared so. A civilian life wouldn't be a door opened to her.

The pair was back into the silence journey to Konoha, neither was a conversationalist. His little charge seemed content with the quiet walk and would occasionally turned left and right to take in her surroundings, mainly forests. Sometimes, she would look up towards the sky, seemingly looking for something. Kakashi noticed this to be her habit; observing the sky. He wondered if she was like the Naras who had some kind of fascination with the blue expanse, lazing under the protection of a tall tree throughout the day.

Other thing he noticed about her was her intellectual mind. Kakashi couldn't be sure if she was a genius or just smart. The questions she asked was obvious in her situation, wanting to know about the village she would be living in was normal, but some of her responses to his answers were slightly disturbing. To know when to back out and quit was also surprising, a tact children in general lacked. So far, she hadn't showed many evidences pointing to her state of intelligence.

Still, fact remained that the child was not ordinary. It probably stemmed from her civilian upbringing and growing up in a secluded farming village with minimum knowledge of shinobi affairs. And in his life, he learned that when one didn't meet the standard, they were mostly geniuses in their own ways. Take his self-proclaimed rival for example, his prowess in taijutsu was through the roof even when he was visibly lacking in other areas. Yeah, he wasn't ordinary by any means. Everyone who had as much as one glance at the man would agree that he wasn't normal.

One thing for sure; she was a weird four-years-old girl. General populations might not notice, but under that incurable clumsiness was a grace many didn't possess. Even Kakashi himself might miss it if he hadn't been paying close attention ever since their first accidental meeting. It was the way she carried herself even after tripping and falling on the dirt paths, the faint glimmer in her pale eyes as she took in her surroundings. Most of all, it was how she accepted her condition- when she was told to relocate to an unfamiliar destination with an unknown stranger.

It wasn't that she was unfeeling or unresponsive to her whole situation, she did feel. He recognised the flicker of pain before understanding and acceptance dawned on her eyes, all within seconds, when she heard the news. Through their travel, he didn't detect any animosities from the girl, even when he was the one who ripped her from her foster family. He hid his identity, his name and everything but his codename; Inu. And still, she treated him like she would any other.

Somehow, one way or the other, Kakashi found himself comforted by the childish innocence.

 **-o o-**

Hidden by the thick forests and clustered amongst the safety of hundreds of trees was Konohagakure no Satō, her huge green and red painted gate stood tall, welcoming her weary children from their arduous journey. The white cobblestone was engraved with a swirly symbol in the middle and a triangle was attached to it, two identical kanji in red was also next to it.

As an ANBU returning from a classified mission, Kakashi couldn't take the front gate. He circled through the village walls for an entrance only ANBU had access to, which led straight to their quarters. Of course, this would mean that he had to piggyback the little girl. Without even telling her to, it appeared she was aware that she had to be quiet - another hint to her intellect.

His destination was but one; Hokage Tower. His mission report was long due and he needed to take his charge to the Hokage because clearly she wasn't a villager of Konoha. As Kakashi travelled via roof hopping, the snow-haired girl was mesmerised by the bustling activities below her, and most of all, the red-and-white fan crest etched on the white cobblestone on the outskirt of the village. It appeared to be a small gate to a district, she couldn't be sure.

It was only a quick split second view, yet it was burned into her memories. She could always see far and clearly, even when she was moving quickly, or in this case, her escort did. She could also see a rocky mountain. It was huge and carved into it were what appeared to be four different faces, none of which she recognised. When they finally stopped, it was on the red roofed building on the base of the mountain, the tallest structure on the village as far as she could see. One second they were on top of the building, the other they were inside with another unfamiliar presence.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi bowed and crouched in one knee after he put the girl down.

Having expected his presence from his chakra, the Hokage calmly assessed the two people before him. He let his eyes wander towards the lone young girl, he analysed her. Starting from her snow coloured tresses, her porcelain complexion and finally, her pale white eyes with the slightest hint of blue instead of lavender, yet the resemblance was uncanny. He also noticed a glint in her eyes when they locked gazes. It wasn't fear but courage.

And he found that intriguing. Here she was, in a place she didn't have a clue of, with no known relatives and even after taken away from her village, she didn't fear him nor her situation. He might have expected this from a seasoned enemy shinobi taken hostage, but certainly not from a little girl barely out of her toddlerhood. It appeared that his subordinate managed to find an interesting child.

After he was satisfied with his short observation, Hiruzen nodded as he parted with his smoking pipe, keeping it between his fingers instead. He eyed his silver-haired ANBU. "Inu. I received your squad's report. Good work." he spoke in a tone that reminded the girl of the wisest man back in her home village – old with age, wise with experience – yet weary.

Soon as he said that, he returned his gaze towards the subject of interest. He gave her a friendly smile to make her feel welcomed. "I have heard about you, child. I wish to talk with you, but first thing first." he took a breathe out of his pipe and blew out smokes before he addressed his subordinate. "Inu. I expect your report later. You are dismissed." he told him as a command, not harsh but leaving no room for arguments.

Kakashi nodded and was about to use his convenient jutsu to poof away when he felt a firm grip on his shirt this time as he was still kneeling. He was met with a pair of moist milky eyes silently pleading for him to do something and a pouty lips as an additional effect. _She is absolutely adorable,_ he couldn't deny that. There was just something about the girl that had him wrapped around her little fingers and that was saying something.

"Inu-san..." she continued with her puppy-eyes attack, letting out a slight whimper that had the ANBU stiffened and would have sweated bullets if he didn't have better control over his emotions. Seeing no way out, Kakashi sighed before smiling as his hand gently landed on her unsuspecting head. He absently noted that her hair was soft and manageable, unlike his despite sharing the same ancient colour. The girl had gotten attached, like he did. And it was a bit saddening to part like this.

She reveled into the gesture, enjoying the warmth from the contact through the fabric covering his skin. She understood he had to leave and he had no say in the matter. She knew, yet she didn't want him to. So she settled for a pout with puffing red cheeks that earned her a light chuckle from the amused shinobi. He patted her head one more time before poofing away. Shinobi lived differently, if the way they appeared and disappeared out and into thin air was any indication.

The Hokage puffed another smoke and his eyes crinkled as he smiled. He had wrinkles all over his features, signifying his old age. "Now... I am Sarutobi Hiruzen. What is your name, child?" he asked kindly so as to not intimidate the young girl. He was surprised when her gaze turned sharp and she regarded him straight in the eyes. From her eyes alone, he could tell that the young child before him would one day become a formidable kunoichi.

"...Seiun. My name is Seiun, Hokage-sama." she told him in a loud and clear voice, confident and unwavering.

That day, the sky was a clear blue with only a few clouds. It was the view her Father loved so much, thus her namesake; Seiun, _the_ _blue sky._

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 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _Reviews are very much_ _appreciated!_

 _This is my first Naruto fanfic, so constructive reviews are strongly welcomed!_

 _Next time, her presence will stir changes. What will be of her fate?_


	2. Chapter 1 - Outsider

**Blue Sky (** **青雲** **)**

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 _"Trust is the foundation of all relationships. For it to truly work, trust must be mutually shared. If one side broke, then the other would crumble. Trust is a valuable gift to give, do not offer it to just anyone."_

 _—Unknown Elder to Seiun_

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 **Chapter 1: Outsider**

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 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

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 _Third day since arrival_

It felt like eternity as both men waited in silence, the tense atmosphere wasn't helping. By now, the rumour that a silver-haired ANBU returned with an extra presence who was the cause of the clan meeting scheduled two days from now had reached the ears of every clan heads in Konohagakure. This outsider certainly had piqued the interest of the prominent shinobi of the village and curiosity was at the highest peak.

"If I may ask, Hokage-sama. What is this matter you require my immediate attention in?" one of the men finally asked away. He had responsibilities he left when he received the messenger from the Hokage asking for his presence at this very moment and the tension in the room somewhat informed him the graveness of the discussion about to commence.

For awhile, Hiruzen didn't answer. He stared right into the eyes of Hyūga Hiashi, the current Head of the Hyūga Clan as if ascertaining something. "You are aware of the clan meeting two days from now. The subject of the meeting as you have already guessed, is the child my ANBU brought in two days ago." It was a statement both were aware of, then he continued.

"This child, Hiashi, possesses the Byakugan of your clan." he dropped the big bomb.

Hiashi was inclined to disbelieve such absurdity. The Hyūga Clan did not permit marriage outside of the clan. The Byakugan was the very pride and foundation of the clan and thus zealously guarded. No such thing had occurred since he was placed as the Head and he had received no reports from the previous Heads as well. He had utmost trust in the security of his clan and it was one the finest in the village. The situation was plainly baffling and improbable. He had no reasons, none at all, to believe this claim.

"I am sorry to say, but that is not possible, Hokage-sama. Every children bearing the Hyūga's lineage are kept in the village and none left unnoticed." Hiashi said calmly, maintaining his composure and giving nothing away.

Hiruzen didn't bat an eye at the denial, he expected it. "I have tested the child myself and she does possess the Byakugan. Furthermore, she has no difficulties to activate it. She is brimming with potentials, Hiashi." his tone was firm and sure, it showed he was serious.

The situation completely threw him out of the loop, he could never have expected that the Hyūga out of all clans, had a leak of their prized kekkei genkai. He really couldn't believe it even when it was strongly suggested otherwise. "...May I see the child, Hokage-sama?" he finally found his voice after his stunned silence.

The Hokage let out a sound of approval, glad they were progressing and step one was done. "Before that, Hiashi. I have placed the child under the custody of my subordinate, Hatake Kakashi–" he raised his hand to stop the protest, "the child is under my direct orders and I will personally train her for a full-month before having her graduate the Academy and sending her to an apprenticeship with one of my subordinates." he finished.

"The child is a Konoha's citizen first and foremost. I am informed that her birth parents is alive and well, and I have sent message to my student, Jiraiya, to seek the child's relatives. As she is not an orphan, her custody condition is slightly different. Hatake Kakashi was the one who located the child and acquired her custody from her guardians. The child's condition itself is special and thus the measures taken are to be considered accordingly." he paused, searching for the understanding to dawn in the man before he continued.

"I have a proposition for you and the Hyūga Clan, Hiashi." he announced with a slight edge in his tone and the sharpening of his gaze.

Hiashi showed that he was indeed listening despite how confounded he was. If the child had been an orphan, then by all rights of her lineage, the Hyūga Clan would have complete custody over the child. However, as that was not the case and her birth parents are supposedly breathing and missing, the situation was complicated a bit. He was the Clan Head but he admitted that the Elders also had says in matters involving the clan, especially one of important matter such as this. But here he was called to the Hokage's office on his own.

"I know the Hyūga Clan won't look kindly on the child's existence and I suppose the Elders of your clan would enact the brand on her to protect the Byakugan. This is why I am offering to take her off your hands and subsequently, the Hyūga Clan as well." he proposed.

Hiashi took his time to respond, but he did. "It is true that the Hyūga Clan refuses to shame our household by accepting an unknown child with questionable origin even with the clan's kekkei genkai into our clan. However, if the child does possess the Byakugan, she will be continuously associated to the Hyūga Clan even when she does not carry our clan in her name. The only other option would be to place her in the cadet branch, Hokage-sama."

The Hyūga Clan was one of the esteemed four noble clans of Konohagakure no Satō and their dōjutsu was the strongest – the Uchiha could be second – and traditions were strictly enforced within the clan. The child's mere existence alone was an extreme embarrassment that the clan would prefer to bury deep to never be uncovered. However, the Hokage got to the child before the Hyūga. This could greatly affect their standing within the village, if they couldn't even prevent the child from existing.

If anything, Hiruzen seemed amused by this. "Fortunately, the child bears resemblance to her guardian with her snow-coloured hair and her Byakugan shows the evidences of mutation with the colour being blue instead of the regular purple. This would make it easier for the child to pass off as a Hatake and of Hyūga's descent but not as a Hyūga." he was pleasantly surprised by the child's existence and he had plans for the little girl.

Perhaps Hiruzen should have feel bad about the plans he had for the sweet child but it really was for the best, hers and others. She would be raised with sufficient care and received trainings from some of the bests in return for her cooperations. The child was in the end a Hyūga – one of the four noble clans – by birth and a Hatake – dying and famous clan – through adoption, she would hold a political leverage only she could have. He needed her, for the village.

Hiashi thought hard about the proposal and he considered the pros and cons. The child wouldn't be of the Hyūga's responsibilities and there was no pressure to acknowledge her heritage to the Hyūga Clan which would harm the clan's prestige. There was no need to mark the innocent soul. As the Head and of the main branch, he was aware that the seals branded on the cadet branch members cause unbridgeable rift within the clan. It was for the clan, he understood that perfectly. But he had begun to doubt the system, _his_ clan system, that eventful day.

"...I understand, Hokage-sama. As the Head of the Hyūga Clan, I accept this proposition. In addition, I have my own terms; the child will not receive any semblances of training nor assistances from the Hyūga Clan and she is to be treated as a completely separate existence from the Hyūga despite of her heritage and she will not be associated to the clan in any ways. If these conditions are accepted, then I have no other complain, Hokage-sama." Hiashi responded, his features were schooled, showing none of his opinion.

"We have an agreement." he agreed without so much as a beat.

Hiruzen was pleased and he allowed himself a smile before he looked for his beloved pipe. He really could use a smoke. "Now that's out of the way, there is the matter concerning her parents. I have confirmed with the help of Morino Ibiki that the child is the only one in her family to possess the Byakugan and the one she inherited it from, her grandfather, had passed and cremated according to his will. As soon as I received information from Jiraiya, I will relay it to you, Hiashi." he spoke.

 **-o o-**

 _Fourth day since arrival_

The sun had yet to rise, but a little girl and her one-month-mentor had awaken for their daily lessons. It was peaceful and serene like any other mornings when they trained. It's been three days since she arrived in the village and was currently on the fourth day. The Hokage was a busy man, leaving only few hours at dawn before late morning to teach the little girl. So he quickened her paces and she adapted.

Seiun was currently reading the fifth and final series of books on basic chakra theories the Academy students learned during their four years (according to the Hokage) while doing the chakra control exercise where she had to stick a leaf on her forehead. Her concentration needed to be on her reading to fully comprehend the words and she had to unconsciously redirect and exert chakra to her forehead. The Hokage told her that he wouldn't advance her training unless she was truly able to do this while sleeping and multi-tasking was the best way to achieve completion.

Life in the Hokage's residence had been treating her well. Konohamaru was the most adorable toddler with his pair of huge onyx eyes and warmest cuddle. Despite making it in the list of the most-scathing-missions for ANBU ranks, the boy took immediate liking towards his two years senior unlike those masked men he chucked his toys at.

Hiruzen sat on a cushion sipping his tea while keeping a watchful eye on the child. He noticed the glimmer in her pale eyes whenever she was gaining knowledge, like she was doing now. It reminded him of a student of his, the ex-communicated one. "I must say, your control over your chakra is simply astounding, Seiun-chan. It's hard to believe you never received proper shinobi training at all."

He didn't want to believe that the girl was lying about her civilian background or that he was deceived into believing, but her medical report – basic check-up, sleeper test and the likes – showed evidences of developed chakra coil and suggested prior chakra trainings. Opening her chakra coil at such a young age of three-years-old and receiving supervision to manipulate her chakra would raise her chance of originating from another Hidden Village and possibility of a spy. Although her medical report also stated that she had received no physical training and her limbs were highly uncooperative in term of coordination. Konohamaru loved his new sister and while he hadn't reciprocated the feelings, he still wished the best for the girl because in the end, she was of Konoha.

Seiun was unfazed but the sparkle in her eyes dimmed as she flipped another page of her book. "It isn't hard to grasp, the concept I mean. I have been meditating for an hour every day after I wake up, it's easy for me to feel the flow of energy within my body and redirect it elsewhere."

The question was layered with hidden intention trying to find fault in the story she had given, she realised that. Seiun was a young child but she was not in any ways, stupid. In the past few days of living in Konoha, she learned that protecting one's kin was at the top of the priorities— the village's next generations. And she, an outsider carrying a lineage that was supposed to be safe within said village. Who wouldn't be suspicious of her?

"Oho... Did you pick that habit yourself, Seiun-chan? It's quite surprising a young child as you are sitting quietly doing nothing." he quirked an eyebrow as he displayed friendly curiosity.

"Mother and Father taught me to. Everyone in the village meditates. The Elder said that it's the best way to relieve negative emotions before it ever has the chance to accumulate and swell. I have been doing it as far as I could remember." she said steadily without a pause, knowing it would only serve to elicit more suspicions on her if she didn't.

He nodded to himself. "That is indeed true. Meditation let one sorts their minds and feelings. Your Elder is a wise one." he stared at her, "oh, and I don't suppose I have asked you the name of your home village? I recalled you telling me you was dropped off by your birth parents three months before the ANBU found you in Tokino village. You came from somewhere else."

This time, Seiun did still instinctively but she suppress a flinch. "...I know that the village is located in the Land of Tea, but not the name. Knowledge... is important and it's the rule and foundation of the village. When I was very little, my Father told me that until I grew a certain age or deemed eligible - whichever comes first - certain knowledge would be withheld from me. It's the same for every children."

"Ah... a very sound decision. I must agree that knowledge is highly valuable. I am interested in seeing your village, Seiun-chan." Hiruzen nodded in assent while smoothing down his grey beard with his free hand, the other holding his tea cup. From what he had gathered, the village the girl originated from could be a small, secluded Hidden Village. He couldn't be sure of said child having through a shinobi training because the shine in the girl's eyes indicated that she was learning and enjoyed every seconds of it, not of re-learning something she did know.

Seiun glanced up at the man's eyes before returning to her book as quickly. "I don't actually leave home much when I lived there." she confessed.

Her honest confession took him by surprise and his eyebrows shot up. "Why is that?" he asked sharply as he searched her eyes for any lies.

Despite of the daggers in his tone, she couldn't help but feel nervous instead of pressured. Her toes were fidgeting as she shifted uncomfortably. "...No one in the village has eyes like mine except my deceased grandfather. I think they find mine... disconcerting." she paused, her lips pursed.

"...I don't like the restless reactions I caused whenever I was present. I stayed home most of the time." she said.

At this, the wary expression eased from his aged features, his eyes softening as he frowned slightly. "...I see." he closed his eyes momentarily, sipping his tea before he opened them to observe the child. Could he be wrong about his assumption about the girl? "...Do you... Do you hate them, Seiun-chan?" he asked hesitantly, his hazel brown eyes seemingly pleading at her.

It broke him when he was reminded of a certain blonde boy who was orphaned on that night, made a sacrifice to be a hero, yet treated as the village's pariah for as long as he lived. The boy was such a bright child too, and here before him, was another child even younger, who suffered injustice from her peers due to being slightly different. The Hyūga's milky eyes might be a normal sight in Konoha and praised in other Hidden Villages, but it wasn't as well received in civilian villages. Hyūga shinobi were still asked if they could see whenever they stopped by such villages.

The sudden mood change confused her and she got the strangest feeling his question wasn't truly directed at her but he was hoping for something from her, something she didn't quite know. "No. The villagers were only uneasy because of my eyes. It wasn't me exactly. We tend to fear the unknown and what's different. I don't resent them for it." she answered without lifting up her gaze from her book.

Taken aback by the sincerity and wisdom in her reply, he was stunned before he critically eyed the child in a new light. He was getting the surprises of his life with the new arrival combined with another mischievous child who was sleeping away only to wake later with another plan to cause a full-sprint race and hide-and-seek with his shinobi. "Ho... You are very mature, Seiun-chan and understanding." he crooked an eyebrow.

Seiun flipped another page, unperturbed. "I do, of course, wish for normal treatments."

While living in her birth village, no one openly shunned her or shy away from her. No one mocked her nor called her names. But it was there; the unease, the restlessness, the discomfort, whenever their eyes met hers. They tried to hold their gaze steady and clear of prejudice. They tried. But they failed, each and every single time. How could she resent them?

This caused Hiruzen to laugh light-heartedly, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "That you do." he agreed.

It was quiet for a while, before he asked again, this time with saddened eyes filled with guilt. "Do you think it was wrong of them...?" he question solemnly. He had asked himself, questioned his decision, judged his incapability for every day ever since that night. He had lived quite a long life and he had several regrets, some he couldn't even better now.

Seiun hummed before giving her response. "I can't blame them. I suppose it's just in our nature. My cousins play with me and treat me no differently. I learned a lot under their care." she decided.

Back then, Seiun, deciding to separate herself from her peers and general populations to save herself and themselves from unwanted responses, stayed cooped in her house through the days. In those days, her neighbours who were her cousins, frequented her place often to talk and play with her, or simply to stay next to her so she wouldn't get lonely. It's probably thanks to them that she wasn't jaded about the 'treatments' she received.

"Cousins?" Hiruzen raised his eyebrow, again.

Seiun nodded, she knew she had to clarify the whole situation so there was no misunderstanding in what was vital and important. "My mother is an only child, but my father has siblings – later, children. My maternal grandfather was the one with the eyes." she told him, her lips set in a tight line. It's been hard to genuinely communicate with the old man because he constantly doubted her and she couldn't deny his suspicion until he arrived at his conclusion that she was worth trusting.

"You are very smart, aren't you, Seiun-chan?" Hiruzen smiled as he set down his tea.

He had noticed that the girl indeed had a genius mind. She learned and adapted faster than her peers, she had opinions of her own and her observation-skill was through the roof. The girl would make it far in the ranks here, even more if she could somehow fix her abominable balance during her life-time. He had given the girl the room across of Konohamaru, which was in the second floor. And for the three days she lived here, she fell down the stairs three times, one time each day and would have fallen more if he hadn't accompany the girl step by step down the stairs.

Another page was flipped. "For noticing the underneath of your questions, Hokage-sama? It wasn't veiled thickly, you made it easy for me." she continued her reading.

"Yes, your responses too, Seiun-chan." he nodded, amused. He wasn't as tense as he was before, and so far, the girl hadn't done anything worth admonishing. Until then, he would put her through probation and decided from there.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." she said, her eyes resting at the thinning remaining pages to read.

Hiruzen eyed the nearly finished book. "I suppose you will need more books at the rate you're reading. Very impressive indeed." he complimented.

One less page. "Mother taught me how to read and write when I was three. Knowledge is important, so I was equipped with the necessary tools to gain it." she replied.

"Understandable. Ah, here in Konoha, you can explore the village as you like it, Seiun-chan. You don't need to worry." he nodded with his smile appearing more genuine. He was getting more interested in the girl's little village more and more as their conversation went further but also of the her future here in Konoha. He hoped she would learn to love Konoha and protect its people as time went on, that she would be, one of their own.

"Mm." she hummed in affirmation, not sparing the other party another glance.

 **-o o-**

In the Hokage's Residence after the Hokage had left for his office, Seiun was left on her own devices, providing she had finished her given set for the day. As the Hokage didn't have much time to teach her, he made sure she knew the basics and left her with specific instructions on what to practice and which book to read until their next training session. Most of the time, she spent her break time with the little boy two-years her junior up the stairs in the second floor. And this was just that.

Sarutobi Konohamaru was a two-years-old toddler whose parents were on ANBU duties, leaving him home-sitting with his ANBU guard for the day unless something came up. He rarely got the time to meet his parents after his one-year-old mark. It's probably why he was so bratty towards his sitter, throwing both tantrums and toys most often than not. He saw his grandfather more than he saw his parents, but even the old man was busy and wasn't home during the day.

So when a girl close to his age came and shot him a sweet smile, he melted and went straight to her arms after his grandfather's, engulfing himself in the warmth. She was nice, kind and definitely not one of those creepy masked men who wouldn't really move until he cried out. It wasn't his fault that he fell in love with the older girl right after he saw her with how gently she treated him. She even gave him an affectionate nickname, had the warmest and cuddliest hug second only to his grandfather.

Unaware of an extra presence in the room, Seiun cuddled the little boy lovingly, nuzzling their cheeks together. "Kon-kun is so squishy and warm..." she muttered contently.

The only response was a fit of childish giggles from the raven-haired toddler, who was enjoying the showered affection. "Owee-tan...!" Konohamaru babbled while reaching at the girl's pale cheek with his stubby fingers.

Meanwhile, a certain ANBU was irked at the devilish boy's immediate submission towards the girl but not him or any other ANBU ever sent to babysit the toddler. Once, he even had a bump on top of his head from the toys said boy chucked at him. He was also relieved at not having to deal with the boy and risked himself another injury that was not of battles, so he had mixed emotions about the whole situation. He kind of envied the little girl though, for having the charm to pacify the male toddler.

Through the silence, Seiun could feel a prick on her conscience - someone was sending her - from somewhere in the room. But she could only see Konohamaru. "...?" she glanced around trying to spot something amiss, but could only frown at empty space. She turned to face her company. "Kon-kun, do you feel anyone else in here?" she questioned in a suspicious tone, not knowing how a certain masked shinobi stiffened unexpectedly.

"Waa? Buu!" Konohamaru babbled incoherently. He wasn't yet intellectually developed to have this kind of conversation and thus he didn't quite understand her.

Konohamaru's innocent display calmed her and deciding it was only her imagination, she shrugged. "...It's nothing. What do you want to play next?" she let go of the boy to pick a block and showed it to him.

Another ANBU was currently facing his Hokage and given the mission of his life despite his reluctance.

"ANBU Inu. I have decided for Seiun-chan's custody to fall under you. It would be best for her to adopt your name." Hiruzen didn't stop there. "She will live with me for the first month. In that time, I want you to prepare your apartment for her." it was an order, for the good of Konoha.

Hiruzen was the Hokage of the whole village and he couldn't favour one and not the other, it wouldn't be fair and the balance of the village would tip off at that. Adding to that, the girl possessed a kekkei genkai which could be linked into a certain clan, this could be seen as a favouritism towards said clan and caused rifts with the rest of the clans. However, the child's situation was rather unique and she needed constant supervision, thus her one-month living arrangement with the Hokage. After that, she would have to return to her guardian's abode.

"...Surely there are other options, Hokage-sama? I have missions that lasted for weeks. I can't raise a child." he frowned behind his porcelain mask. He didn't like where this was going. A child needed a whole lot more than just attention, something he couldn't provide with his irregular schedule. He promised the child would be well-cared, and he wasn't the one.

Hiruzen levelled his gaze, unrelenting, a small smile tugging on his lips. "I am sure necessary arrangements could be made at such time. Konohamaru is rather fond of her too. This is for the best, Kakashi." his tone sharpened, gaining an edge. "After tomorrow, the council and all of the clans would be informed of her existence and she would be in the spotlight. The child needs protection, and staying under your name and your roof is the only way to keep her out of harm way."

Kakashi maintained his gaze through the holes on his mask despite having only one eye opened. Eventually, he sighed. "...I understand, Hokage-sama. I suppose I have lots to do now." his tone defeated and his posture slackened a bit.

This caused Hiruzen to smile, satisfied. He leaned on his seat. "Good. It would be best if you introduce yourself to Seiun-chan soon, without the mask this time. She is in my residence at the moment and would be allowed to walk the village after the meeting tomorrow concluded."

"Uh... I think I would refrain, Hokage-sama." Kakashi fidgeted nervously, unused to dealing with children.

Seiun wasn't your regular child, he knew that much. That still didn't change the fact that she was a child, and he couldn't really handle children. Neither were a social butterfly, and how could he interact with her when neither was willing to act first? He just knew this wouldn't work.

Hiruzen knew this, and he quirked an amused eyebrow at him. "Nonsense. Talk to her soon. Seiun-chan can use a friend." Knowing the silver-haired shinobi's stubbornness, he didn't let him interrupt. "That's an order, Kakashi." he finished.

"A-Aaah..." left with no choice, Kakashi could only sigh. The Hokage's order was, in the end, absolute.

Oblivious to the exchange, Seiun was quietly lounging on the alcove in the Hokage's Residence with a leaf on her forehead, watching and observing the slowly drifting white fluffy clouds in the blue sky. Konohamaru was asleep and she was free, and bored. Numerous thoughts crossed her mind, of her parents and of her situation. As of now, she was training to be a 'shinobi', a protector of the village and their loved ones, or so she was told. The decision wasn't really made by her, but by her condition. Bearing the Byakugan had apparently set her life in a stone, as a coveted kekkei genkai, absence of training would make her an easy target that could endanger the village's safety.

It was between her and numbers of people. And so she chose. She could only wish the peace would last.

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 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _Reviews are very much_ _appreciated!_

 _Thank you for the encouraging reviews! I hope this chapter is good enough. I think I need a beta reader for this fic. There's just so much to cover that I think I might have missed out on some. Anyone interested?_

 _Next time, meeting with the mask-less ANBU? Does Seiun recognise him?_


	3. Chapter 2 - He who was called 'demon'

**Blue Sky (** **青雲** **)**

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 _"A name is the second most precious gift you have, with your life being the first. The fact that you're here, standing before me, alive and named, means you're precious to your parents and you're loved."_

 _—Seiun_

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 **Chapter 2: He who was called 'demon'**

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 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

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The streets in Konoha were bustling with activities in the daylight when business was the busiest. Where civilians were actively working and conversing, shinobi were receiving missions and running about as well as setting out of the village. In particular, hidden amongst the shadows and perched on a tree branch was a masked shinobi in full ANBU garb, looking over a lone figure who had grazed her knees after tripping and falling over the tiniest pebble on the road.

ANBU shinobi might be the highest in ranks directly under the Hokage, but the more important mission during these peaceful days was protecting the village and often times, watching over the little ones. These children were usually politically involved or individually irreplaceable from birth or by situation. This little girl was especially receiving handful of attentions from the society for her situation.

"...That's the fifth time since she left home." ANBU by the codename Inu mumbled gravely as he trained his gaze on the little girl who had pushed herself up from the ground with only the slightest tears in her eyes.

After escorting the girl from her village, Kakashi had taken it upon himself to check on the child every now and then. He didn't plan to actually be directly involved with her of course, just from a safe distance, like he always liked it. He gave his word to her former guardian after all and he felt responsible. However, only a few days ago he was told to introduce himself to the girl (who had resumed her tour around the village) by the Hokage no less. And after the month was over, he was supposed to care for the child as a parent figure. _Impossible._

Kakashi couldn't be sure what the Hokage was thinking, making him out of all people to care for a child, a four-years-old at that. She was vulnerable and he was fit to cater to her circumstances, he understood that. But he was unsuited to raise her. He would like it best if he could just watch her like this, hidden away from plain sight. There was another ANBU shadowing her, he realised, perched on the tree west from where he was. It was the Hokage's order no doubt. He guessed the child was an important element in the man's plan. He didn't doubt it was for the village and that nothing unsavoury would occur with the Hokage on the case.

Through his time observing the girl, he noted that she was a curious one, interested in almost everything she laid her eyes on. The way her pale eyes seemed to sparkle gave her away even when there was only a minute change from her default expression. Oh, and yes. She was a very clumsy child, that didn't change from when they travelled a week on foot to Konoha. He was sure she would scrap her knees bare by the time the sun set. Her name was a perfect fit for her, he decided from when he caught her staring at the sky after a few while; _Seiun._

Seiun seemed to be searching for something as she walked through the village, it was present in her inquisitive gaze. The civilians were nice to her, helping her up when she tripped near the crowds. A nameless chūnin who watched her fell twice within three metres distance even offered her a roll of bandage. She had actually stared at the roll in his hand for a few seconds before then shifted her gaze to the bandages the shinobi had on his person, before she nodded to herself and thanked the man. He noticed how she began to purposefully stare at the bandages the shinobi wore then comparing their outfits to those of civilians and noting the absence of the white fabric.

"That little demon tried buying something from my stand earlier! I chased him off! Why would I sell anything to that demon fox!" a voice full of scorn grunted, it sounded appalling.

The sheer fury and distaste in the tone she heard stopped Seiun in her tracks. There're two gossiping women, both looking unhappy if the deep creases in their features were anything to go by. She casted them a curious gaze first, before her questioning eyes trailed to the passersby who didn't react in the least. _That wasn't how it was supposed to be,_ she thought.

"Good thing you did! I wouldn't want to think who would be stupid enough to sustain his cursed existence! Hokage-sama should have killed him all those years ago!" the other lady agreed, her face twisted in an ugly scowl.

They were not done, the lady of the vegetable vendor appeared furious, as if she was cheated by her husband. "Hokage-sama is too kind. But that child is a demon, he isn't a child! Not even a _'he'_!" she raged.

That was the deciding point for her. Seiun scurried away from the vicinity, confusion marring her childish features. When she was far enough, she frowned openly. "...What's with that?" she murmured.

Seiun didn't like the animosity radiating from the two ladies, frankly, it scared her. Never before had she been exposed to such intent hatred, openly displayed loathing and no one was saying anything about it. They heard it, didn't they? It was weird too, she didn't know any demon fox, or was it a demon child, a little boy? What was happening here?

As she walked further through the village, it turned out that the _'talk'_ was indeed common. She caught snippets from similar conversations degrading the boy. Apparently, he was treated badly whenever he went: the vegetable store he tried buying from,

the bookstore he casted a stray glance at; _"How dare he even came here?! What bad luck!"_

the restaurant he was hesitating to enter; _"What does he think he is?! He should've learned the first time I threw him out!"_

and even a person he was caught staring a second too long; _"What are you looking at, you demon! Stay away from me!"_

All of this happened before she arrived at the vicinity. Said boy had had left when she got there, not even a shadow of him despite of everything the villagers had to say about him. Only one thought crossed her mind then, 'Hokage-sama let this all happen?'. She couldn't believe that the wise and loving old man towards his grandson, even accepting her entry to the village with her rather unique situation, allowed such thing to happen under his watch.

Well, yes, she had _someone_ placed on her, and yes, she knew, after all, it would be weird if she didn't have one or that she didn't know. She wasn't stupid nor was the Hokage. Although she couldn't see anyone suspicious, she was sure there was an extra presence following her. The constant feel of stares on the back of her neck was strong ever since she left the Hokage's Residence. There would be a lot for her to ask the elder man.

Her careless running caused her to trip and scraped her knees especially bad this time around. "...That hurts." she muttered with the tell-tale of tears.

Unbeknownst to her, one of her trackers winced silently, his fist clenched. "She shouldn't have ran with her clumsy limbs in the first place...!" Kakashi chided the girl from the shadow. He was worried for this girl he only spent one week with. The one week he somehow bonded and sympathised with said little girl.

Seiun, even as she was unable to see who were following her, could pick up the radiated concern and worry from somewhere nearby. She turned to see no one, but shook it off. "...I need to get home first." she steeled her resolve, before whimpering slightly. "And it hurts...!" she frowned, her eyes watering. She quickly wiped off her tears and pushed herself to her feet, breaking into another sprint towards the place she was currently staying.

Her action alarmed Kakashi, who was well aware of the consequences of her speeding up with her horrible sense of balance. _"Stu—, that girl!"_ Kakashi almost cursed, losing his cool. He immediately followed after her, absently noting the other ANBU was also in pursuit.

Seiun was running, nearly falling several times but caught herself just in time before she crashed. Her initial thoughts of searching for the red-and-white fan crest were buried with her now sprouting and growing ideas after her relatively short stroll around the village. Instead, she now wanted answers to her questions. The Hokage would know.

He had to.

 **-o o-**

In the meantime, enjoying his cup of morning tea in his leisure, aka calligraphy room was Hiruzen. He was thinking of his young tenant's progress in her shinobi training he started her on and how her chakra control is sublime, one of the best he had seen in his life. Her prowess for ninjutsu could equal even the Shodaime, and if she was as prodigious and as diligent as the Niidaime, then it's possible that Konoha had earned her own jutsu creator. Seiun was also a Hyūga by birth, possessing the clan's prized Byakugan. An elite she was.

Now if only she can rid herself of that one trait...

No sooner than his thoughts, the sliding doors was bursted open with excessive force that they were about to hit the ledges. Thankfully the offender caught them in time to prevent the loud noises that were about to ensue. There, his young student stood, out of breath and scratches with various depth and length littered her legs with few on her arms.

Something the wizened old man couldn't help but notice. Those scratches were definite evidences of the girl's chronic balance issues, the number one problem in her advance through her training, mainly the physical portion. He sighed inwardly, his tea cup was set down. He took his time to analyse how the little girl was short on breath as well as the strange expression she wore, which were unexpected. He was quite sure the girl took a stroll and earned her scratches from it. Was she running? That would explain her shortness of breath.

"You appear... distressed. What is it, Seiun-chan?" he questioned, worry oozing out of him.

Thoughts were running a mile a minute and her eyes flashing with hundreds of emotions as quick. She thought of the dubbed 'demon boy' and she truly wanted to know. She opened her mouth to speak but the words died in her throat. As curious as she was, what she wanted to ask, wasn't the best conversation starter. Especially if the Hokage himself was involved, yet it appeared he did nothing. Something she couldn't quite believe.

But... What was it that she knew for sure? She was new here and undoubtedly, certain informations were held from her.

Which left her with only one other question she was more likely allowed to know.

Seiun walked into the room, seating herself neatly across the older man. "I... feel watchful eyes on me." she began, recalling the first time she noticed something extra when she was playing with little Konohamaru before earlier today. "Outside, following me... like shadows. But when I turned to see, no one was there." she raised her gaze to meet his reaction.

As she expected, his eyes lit up with recognition after the initial mild surprise wore off. He smiled in amusement. Hiruzen had heard from the ANBU on Konohamaru that he suspected the young girl could somehow sense him and he wasn't sure if it was a fluke or a mistake on his part. However, this proved that it was neither.

"Impressive. I have heard from one of my ANBU, but to think that it is true..." he praised while eyeing the child, only to see steely determination like a shinobi on a mission. The child grew more interesting the more he knew her. "He is my subordinate, Seiun-chan. He is protecting you. So yes, I would say he is following you on my order."

The girl, as young as she was, was a potential threat and a new as well as an unexpected entree to Konoha. Further supervision was necessary, just in case. Moreover, it would serve as a protection towards her as well. There was also the possibility of his same-aged friends having his head for not monitoring said child as should be. After all, she was a unique, unprecedented situation.

"You are referring to an individual, Hokage-sama? I was asking of two particular presences during my morning walk earlier." she frowned, confusion evident in her tone. She didn't quite like the implication that there was an unfamiliar presence which the Hokage didn't know about.

Understanding immediately dawned on him as his stature went rigid. There was a certain glint in his weary gaze, sharp and wary. "Two particular presences? Do you mind elaborating them for me?" he asked with a slight urgency.

Images of his once dear friend, bandages wrapping the right side of his face with a wooden cane by his hand crossed his mind. He had to assure himself that _he_ wasn't related to this situation. Why would _he_ be interested in the little girl other then the fact that she could pose a threat to Konoha. He had declared that she was under his protection. Even _he_ wouldn't dare.

If so... then who?

Seiun was confused and it showed in her expression, particularly in her narrowed pale eyes. "They are in hiding. I could only feel extra presences." she paused, unsure. She contemplated whether to say this piece of information but decided that the Hokage would know best what to make out of it. "...But sometimes, one of the presences feel comforting. It's not exactly familiar, but comforting."

It took a few brief seconds but he soon recognised the meaning behind her words. His tensed shoulders lax and he was once again comfortable to let his thoughts wander. He chuckled softly. "I see now. I believe you don't need to be concerned of this person. He is protecting you, out of his own will it seems." he smiled, showing his amusement as he flashed her a grandfatherly smile.

Hiruzen could be sure this person was Kakashi and to think his silver-haired subordinate was reluctant in taking the mission before, he sure went on considerable length for her. He knew someone needed to stay by his side, by Kakashi's. And the little girl he grew to care about was that someone. It was time for him to return what he took. The dark times Kakashi spent in ANBU and would still, she would be the flicker of light in the dark.

"...Okay." she nodded, casting her confusion away for the moment at least.

Honestly though, just where was the border of the shinobi arts and what they could achieve? Hiding from plain view and supposedly unnoticeable to most seemed common enough. "Hokage-sama. Is there really no limit to a shinobi's capability?" she asked curiously.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this. "There is a limit to everything, Seiun-chan. But why do you ask?"

"...I couldn't see them on my trail. It's like they're not even there." she answered, her lips pursed in contemplation.

This earned her merry laughters from the older man. He appeared amused. "If my high-ranked ANBU could be detected by mere shinobi-in-training who in fact only began her training days ago, the village would collapse!"

Apparently his reply brought more questions than answers to her as she blinked and tilted her head. "Why? Why would it collapse?"

Hiruzen stopped laughing, his eyes softened as he gazed at her naïvety. "Because, Seiun-chan... There are plenty of dangers outside the village walls. The shinobi are here to protect us."

For a while, silence filled the room. She still couldn't comprehend what dangers were there for shinobi to protect the village from. From what she had gathered these past few days, shinobi from other villages often attacked another shinobi from different villages. She wondered why they all couldn't just stop the assaults altogether. Shinobi seemed to be difficult individuals. Reasoning might worked differently for shinobi as compared to civilians.

Seiun nodded to close the conversation, her thoughts still swarming with ideas.

Hiruzen smiled and pushed himself up. His eyes tinkling with mischief and joy. "Now if that is all... Let's start our training for the day, shall we? I believe we are practicing your hand seals today."

At the mention of hand seals, she groaned and slumped forward dejectedly. Seiun knew how terrible she was in that part of training. The Hokage chuckled in amusement as he walked away, leaving the girl to follow behind him.

 **-o o-**

Hiruzen couldn't quite believe his weary eyes and the sight he was seeing from his recently named student. "...And what kata is that, Seiun-chan?" he asked in a somewhat amusement and slight exasperation combined.

The young girl immediately blushed scarlet in her embarrassment, knowing she did something unworthy of showing and dropped what she was doing almost instantly. "Konoha's basic katas, Hokage-sama." she answered dejectedly, her shoulders hunched in disappointment. "I wasn't born with the best coordination sadly. But I am fit and healthy."

Truthfully, Hiruzen couldn't understand how the girl, so talented in her chakra control, couldn't hold even the most basic katas and trip over her own feet when transitioning from one kata to the next. It was a mystery he wasn't sure he could solve even with his armfuls of experiences. He sighed, something he did often when training this particular student of his.

Hearing his defeated sigh had her frantic, Seiun didn't like disappointing anyone, especially those who had expectations on her, because it was something she could rarely had. "B-But I can do this!" she cried, in the hope of remedying the situation and immediately bended her limbs at alarming angles, her expression hopeful.

First, she had her two legs perfectly split flat against the ground. Then she bended her legs inwardly to form a circle, her arms kissing the soft land beneath her and her head facing him to the side.

From the perspective of Hiruzen, it looked painful and somewhat disturbing. One of his trusted subordinates from the Torture and Interrogation force, Morino Ibiki was his name, was the best in his department and he was famous for his sadistic methods of squeezing information from captured hostile shinobi. He once said that breaking the bones of his prisoners was an effective way for them to start speaking when physical harm was involved.

Which was why he was as disturbed as he was intrigued. "And you can't do the most basic katas, how?" his eyebrow raised in bewilderment as he stared at her like a puzzle with answers he had yet to know.

With her eyebrows scrunched together, and lips pursed in confusion, she answered. "Because I don't really need to move?" she tilted her head, somehow making her position even more undesirable.

Although it was indeed weird, he could see the reasoning behind the somewhat twisted logic. He couldn't help but sigh when he recalled her first attempt at the twelve basic hand seals. It was so horrendous that he gave up. Whenever he succeed in making her hold a solid form of one hand seal, she would mess the next hand seal she shifted into. But to be able to get the girl to memorise all twelve hand seals were an achievement in itself for she was so horrible that no word could ever describe.

The road to said achievement was tough, and was still processing because he need to ensure that she didn't forget what she learned. The method of training was the same; form each twelve hand seals _a-thousand-times_ , neat and correct, every single day.

However relieving that was, he still couldn't imagine the girl getting by the shinobi life if she could only manage to form one hand seal at a time. There was another way of course, for she was gifted with prodigious chakra control. In the first place, hand seals were helpful tools to aid in chakra control. And if her control was superior, there was no need to follow the standard. The girl was indeed bright and talented, so he reminded himself to search her a suitable teacher after his one-month training had ended.

As the Hokage left for his office, concluding her training, Seiun went upstairs to see if her favourite little brother was awake. She walked silently, so as not to disturb his sleep. She grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the door open before peeking her head into the room. "Kon-kun...?" she whispered, tip-toeing into the room. She peered into the cradle and soon smiled at what she was seeing.

"You're awake." she noted.

"Owee-tan!" Konohamaru gurgled happily, making hands towards her.

Offering her index finger for him to grab, she smiled sweetly. "Do you want to play with me, Kon-kun?" she asked.

Konohamaru let out joyful laughters at this, his hands reaching out for her. "Uwp! Uwp!" he babbled.

He was so adorable that she giggled at his action and agreed to his wish, she wrapped her arms around him then lifted him up. "There we go!" she huffed, he was heavy. She placed him on the wooden floor, before smiling and poking his cheeks.

"Kon-kun's cheeks are so squishy..." she whispered in dreamy tone.

Little Konohamaru was cute and adorable, his cheeks were puny and squishy, soft to the touch and intoxicatingly addictive. Something happened when she nuzzled with the babbling Konohamaru; she picked up on the hidden presence she felt before and immediately recalled what the Hokage told her of his subordinates following her. She sharply turned to search her surrounding, not knowing how the ANBU in the room immediately stilled.

Even after knowing that someone else was in the room, she still couldn't spot any differences. Everything was still in its place, nothing moved and no unfamiliar shadow were present. After a through search and still not finding anyone, she returned to the first spot she stared at, the one particular spot where the ANBU was actually in hiding. She narrowed her gaze and pouted, before she turned away to face Konohamaru.

"It's nothing, right, Kon-kun?" she gently pushed her palms on his cheeks, pouting slightly.

Truth was, the hidden ANBU was alarmed and his heart rates picked up, thinking he was discovered and thus he panicked. As a veteran though, he knew better and quickly subdued his frantic thoughts and irregular heart beats. With his skills and experiences, it wasn't everyday that anyone sensed him. What's more, a young girl who had just recently started her shinobi training. It would wound his pride if that was proven correct.

The other ANBU, aka Kakashi, was still observing his charge from afar, perch on a branch of a tree nearby the Hokage's Residence while the ANBU who was placed on the girl earlier was recalled, probably because the Hokage had recognised his presence and realised that having two ANBU on the same individual was a wasteful of resources.

What just happened had him thinking, his eyes scrutinising the little girl playing with the Hokage's grandson. He raised an eyebrow in awe. 'She is good. A young, untrained one at that. But it wasn't quite chakra sensing...' he thought with a frown. She was different ever since he found her, and that fact only grew each day she was here.

'It was more like she picked up on the ANBU's sudden spike of emotions... What's her secret?' Kakashi wondered, not liking his own line of thoughts.

The ANBU in Konohamaru's room was emitting increasing interest and curiosity earlier, which was what she sensed. And from her training he spied on earlier, she has considerable potential in becoming a shinobi. He believed her prominent chakra control could offset her balance issues and even earned her a prodigy title. Although she would never be known in the taijutsu aspect. Unless she somehow found a remedy or a miracle, judging from those unworldly katas she displayed.

 **-o o-**

Seiun was bored. It was usually difficult for her to be bored because when she was younger, her house was nearly her whole world, excluding the short trip she took to her uncle's house next door to play with her older cousins. With that condition, she had to stick at similar activities to keep her occupied for a long period of time because her parents were rarely home, both having their own jobs to do.

Ever since she came here though, everything was new and refreshing. And because there was so many things to try, she could afford to be bored. The reason why she had nothing to do was because it was time for Konohamaru's nap, and so after putting the little toddler to sleep, she was free.

After a short contemplation of what to do, she pushed herself off the floor and walked towards the garden. As a diligent student she was, she was aware of the training she was supposed to be learning and plucked several leaves from the trees, careful to decide which one to pluck so as not to harm the trees. She pocketed the green leaves and readied herself for an outing.

The 'demon' was weighing on her mind and she was curious. There was no one who could tell her nor was there anyone to ask, which was why she had to find out for herself. She wanted answers. Initially, she had believed that the villagers on Konoha was nice and friendly, especially with the kindness they extended towards an outsider like her.

Both the civilians and the shinobi helped her when she tripped countlessly on her stroll, one even gifted her a roll of bandage to treat her scrapes! No one also seemed to mind her eyes, which the people in her home village avoided and the villagers in Tokino village found weird for hers were overly pale in colour and the absence of pupils.

So yes, she found it difficult to believe that these people could behave cruelly against a young child, at least from what she heard, this 'demon' was a young boy. Even more, the man who was training her was actually involved in the matters. It didn't come as a surprise since he was the leader of the whole village, but it just seemed improbable for him not to help this 'demon'.

In retrospect, her action could be seen as a potential threat to Konoha as she was scouting the village with her vague status as a newcomer and the unique situation surrounding her admission. This was what the curious Kakashi had in mind as he watched her searched her surrounding.

'What's she doing?' he thought. He tried hard not to think the girl was an enemy spy but her current behaviours betrayed his wish.

Even more so when her gaze stopped at the Hokage Mountain and a radiant smile soon found her face. He wasn't sure what she was thinking at the time, but he sure knew that she was about to run, only to think better of it and decided to walk the long ways. As he followed after her, he really was wondering the possibility of the innocent girl being a spy. No one could blame him, after all, she was such a sweet young girl.

The time he truly spent with her was only one week, on the road to Konohagakure. He was on confidential mission and she didn't know his identity. She shared nothing overly personal and he shared none of his. It was all so simple and basic, but he managed to catch glimpses of her as an individual and he had to admit he adored her just the slightest. Something about her presence soothed him, and he truly appreciated that of her.

Believing that the tallest structure in the village would aid her in her search for her subject of interest, Seiun climbed to the top of the Sandaime's head, which was winning in heights thanks to his sculptured spiky hair. Unknown to her, the silver-haired shinobi was panicking for the height she was at due to her clumsy traits. He was afraid she would slip and fall, injuring herself if he couldn't make it in time.

From this up high, she couldn't see the facial features of anyone on the streets far below her feet. To add to that, she didn't know any defining characteristics of the one she was looking for. She figured that if she could spot a young child visibly ostracised in public, then that was him. And while she couldn't recognise anyone, she could distinguish _colours_. That would be her hints for when she encountered him on the streets.

With the time of the day where most people were out of their homes, it didn't take long for her to spot a young boy walking around the village with a wide berth between him and the rest of the village's population. Bright golden yellow was the most she could make out of him, it was the best hint she could see.

To confirm her findings of being correct, she observed him for some time. It appeared that everywhere he went, he was often yelled at for insignificant mistakes or just plainly ignored like he wasn't even there. From the treatments he received, she surmised that they were intended for him to feel he was an unnecessary existence - or if he even existed at all. And it seemed to be working.

Seiun, however, saw things differently. In her eyes, his existence brilliantly out shined any others. He was there, standing out amongst the rest. In a world where others were mere bystanders, he's the protagonist who stood above the everyone else. The question was, in every story there was the antagonist to balance the protagonist, so who was it in this tale of the 'demon boy'?

 _"I don't actually leave home much when I lived there." she confessed._

 _"Why is that?" he asked sharply as he searched her eyes for any lies._

 _"...No one in the village has eyes like mine except my deceased grandfather. I think they find mine... disconcerting." she paused, her lips pursed._

 _"...I don't like the restless reactions I caused whenever I was present. I stayed home most of the time." she said._

 _"...I see." he closed his eyes momentarily, sipping his tea before he opened them to observe the child._

 _"...Do you... Do you hate them, Seiun-chan?" he asked hesitantly, his hazel brown eyes seemingly pleading at her._

 _"No. The villagers were only uneasy because of my eyes. It wasn't me exactly. We tend to fear the unknown and what's different. I don't resent them for it." she answered without lifting up her gaze from her book._

Ah.

So this was what that was all about.

The Hokage was telling her about the existence of a boy in the village, who was similar to her to some extent but unable to escape the clutch of unfairness and had it worse than she ever had. He was indirectly asking her regarding the villagers' unjust behaviours towards the boy. He was searching for answers from her, who he deemed to have comparable experiences with the boy.

And…?

What was it that he expected from her after learning of this?

The golden-haired boy was shaking, his lone figure screamed out of raw loneliness and thick anguish radiated off him.

Even from this distance, she could notice the subtle tremors wracking his tiny frame. The heavy colours of sorrow didn't suit well with the bright colour of his appearances. They clashed.

The boy ceased his trembling and he stood firm on his feet despite the harsh glares he received. He appeared to have shouted something with strong conviction before turning and dashing away from the scene.

She was an outsider to this village, an anomaly. And he who was called 'demon', a loner.

Wait. That's not right.

He had a name as she had, a beautiful name brimming with hope from the parents for their children, a wondrous gift second only to the life they were given.

"What's his name?"

* * *

 _ **To . .much:** I see you often? __Hha, thanks anyway. Kakashi will have to officially introduce himself first! Wonder when he will do that._

 _ **To InfectedElite:** That'd be much appreciated! I don't know how beta-reader works here in fan fiction. Any idea how? I have several other fictions in-work, so I lose track of the timeline sometimes._

 _ **To time-twilight:** Pairing is still too early, don't you think? I prefer to set the relationship and let it grows steadily over time._

* * *

 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _Reviews are very much_ _appreciated!_

 _Next time, what will she do about the golden-haired boy? Or will she seek the red-and-white-fan crest first?_


	4. Two-shots: Wings of The Sky-dwellers - 1

**Two-shots: Wings of The Sky-dwellers**

* * *

 **Two-shots: Part One of First-shot**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

* * *

It is another day where Kakashi has his self-proclaimed rival trailing after him for a ridiculous match while yelling about 'youth'. After finishing a hard mission and has just left from debriefing, he feels like going home and rest. Although it seems that Gai doesn't agree with him with his constant nagging about 'match', 'youth' and what's-not. Then he hears a voice.

"UWAHHHHH! W-Watch out down there!" a high-pitched scream pierces his ears, causing him to look up. His view is obstructed by the harsh sun and he squints only to see a shadowed figure of a... girl? Free-falling from the clear blue sky. And are those wings he sees on her back?

The figure falls straight to his open arms, nearly forcing him to crumble under the added weight and gravity. Kakashi is too dumbstruck to process what just occurred as he stared at the bundle in his arms. The girl herself has her eyes shut and her tiny fists clenched as she anticipates a terrible fall. Her shiny golden tresses sprawl around her. It seems like eternity until the green shinobi voices his thoughts.

"W-What the?! Kakashi, an angel has just fallen! You caught a youthful angel!" Gai shrieked in excitement as he circles around the frozen duo.

The loud screaming snaps the two out of their trances. Kakashi regains his focus at the same time the girl opens her eyes. Dull black clashes with vibrant green. Her eyes are very light-coloured, the green is barely there, only giving it enough colour for it to be green. Paired with her fair complexion and golden hair cascading her back, also framing her face, he can see why Gai calls her an angel.

"...H-Hello?" she squeaks. Hesitation and slight fear crosses her eyes as she eyes the stranger who saves her from her doom.

At first glance, there's nothing off about the little girl. If Kakashi didn't see her falling from the sky, he would take her as an ordinary civilian child. Confused, but knowing she is even more so, he smiles at her. "Hi there. Are you lost? Can you tell me where you came from?" he asks kindly.

"Kakashi! She's an angel! Of course she is from Heaven!" Gai on the other hand, doesn't have a single clue and is shouting like he is talking with someone over the mountain.

Kakashi can't help the sigh at his antics. "That's Gai," he motioned towards the grinning shinobi. "My name is Kakashi. What's yours?" he drones lazily.

She scrunches her face in confusion and braves a glance at the weird guy, earning her the shivers before looking up at the one holding her in his arms. "...Aoi." she mumbles quietly.

"Tsubasa Aoi," she lifts five fingers. "I'm five."

Kakashi nods, giving her a closed-eye smile. "Okay. Aoi-chan, where are you from?"

Without warning, Gai flashes his trademark grin, showing his pearly teeth with his thumb towards her face. "No need to worry, youthful angel! My rival and I will take you home like a shooting star!" he proclaims loudly, making her wince.

Aoi scoots closer to the safety of Kakashi, bewildered and slightly fearful. She raises her gaze to meet the silver-haired man's concerned eyes and purses her lips. "Uh, I..." she hesitates but continues on. She raises her index finger and points upwards to the sky, slightly to the side. "There. I live there."

.

.

.

It takes a whole minute for both shinobi to comprehend her words. They stare to where she points before asking her again. "Don't you mean there?" Kakashi points to the same direction but straight forward instead of leaning up towards the sky.

"No." Aoi shakes her head. "It's _up_ there." she points again, insisting.

The two shinobi share confused looks before reaching agreement. "My youthful angel! We're taking you to Hokage-sama!" Gai shouts, again.

'Way to be subtle...' Kakashi sighs. "It's okay, Aoi-chan. Hokage-sama is one of the wisest in this village. He is a good man." he assures the girl who nods quietly in response.

 **/\\_/\**

The questioning begin as soon as the three reaches the Hokage Tower. Hiruzen first asks for her name, her age and where she she came from. Aoi is uncomfortable but she answers each and every questions.

"My name is Tsubasa Aoi. I'm five and I live in Kūchūgakure. I fe—"

"Wait, did you just say Kūchūgakure, Aoi-chan?" Hiruzen raises his hand to stop the girl. He isn't the only confused one, Kakashi as well as Gai are too. None of them have heard of this place.

Aoi nods, unfazed. She knows that these people know next to nothing about her village. "Yes. It's up there, on the clouds. I fell when I was... practising." she pouts by the end of her explanation, looking unhappy.

Hiruzen massages his temple. First his shinobi told him that a girl fell from the sky and the next thing he heard she came from somewhere he has no knowledge of. "I-I see..." he stammers, trying to calm his composure as he breathes in and breathes out.

"You said you were practising." he begins again. "Can you tell me what was it you were practising?"

At this, Aoi fidgets on her feet, averting her gaze left and right. "...I was trying to form my chakra wings." she murmurs, seemingly in shame.

"Your... chakra wings?" Hiruzen asks in a way for her to elaborate further, his eyebrow raised.

Aoi frowns at the floor, disliking how she needs to explain her whole history as well as her clan if she is to get help from this village. As of now, she needs the help. Because she can't get home on her own, not as she is. Problem is, will they take the words of a five-years-old?

"I... am from the Tsubasa Clan." she stares up at the Hokage, whose eyes widened a fraction. "It's a clan with long history, existing even before the Warring States Era. Our clan, participated in the war. But we didn't finish it."

Neither Kakashi nor Gai has thought the Tsubasa in her name refers to a clan. And if it is, none of them has heard of it. Also, the clan doesn't belong to Konoha. Which brings them to the main question; how is she here? Her entrance alone is already bewildering enough.

"The war, especially the one between the Senju and the Uchiha, lasted far too long and took far too many lives. The Elder told me, that the war intended to attain peace, soon turned into one for vengeance. Countless lives were lost in one day, only to lose more the next day. The cycle continued, and so the Tsubasa Clan made a decision. We fled the battlefield."

This story, Aoi hears from Ikuro, the Elder who survives the war to tell the tales. Unlike her brother, Shichi, she isn't a prodigy. And her mother directs her to Ikuro, to learn more of the clan's kekkei genkai as well as the clan's history. It also helps that the old man has many fascinating stories about the many places he has travelled to when he was younger. He always keeps her glued to the floor.

"The Tsubasa Clan, creates a small village. In a place where no one else can reach. And that's the _sky_." she informs with a smile. Even now as she closes her eyes, she can see the vast blue stretching the horizon, fluffy white clouds and the soft gentle breeze.

Hiruzen has troubles following the girl's story. It sounds highly improbable but he can detect no lies in her eyes. "You claim to live in the sky, Aoi-chan. On the clouds. Just how...?" he trails off in disbelief.

"Ah. Our clan devises innovative seals, invents special materials and casts a specialised jutsu to our housings. That's why it's possible." Aoi grins childishly.

The Hokage blinks in wonder, unable to hide his awe if her story is indeed real. He wants to visit the place himself one day. "I see. Please continue." he motions for her with his hand.

"Uh, yeah... So, Kūchūgakure is the village our clan resides in. But the village itself is on clouds, so it doesn't stay in one place. It's ever-moving. And uh, the members of Tsubasa Clan have a very potent wind chakra nature. The Elder said that it may be considered as a kekkei genkai, because only the members of our clan are born with that trait. Also, this trait changes our body structure. The wind nature in our chakra is so strong that our chakra itself is the wind. It makes our bodies lighter, so light that we _float_."

Everyone in the Tsubasa Clan is wind natured, it runs in the blood. No one can house two chakra natures because the wind nature is taking all the spaces. However, this makes it that no one other then the Tsubasa can cause such devastating damages with the use of wind jutsu. According to Ikuro, the Tsubasa was famous during the war by the large tornados they conjured as well as their abilities of flight. Yes. The Tsubasa **flies**.

Flying is nice. Every Tsubasa loves to fly. Of course, it doesn't come easy. They need to train. And while it comes easy to some, it's harder to grasp for others. The Tsubasa is just light in nature that babies are under strict order to remain indoors, in a space with roofs to prevent unwanted accident such as floating babies to who-knows-where. Toddlers have special accessories around their ankles to keep them afoot.

"As we train, we are able to control the air in our bodies. After we reach the age of five, we are expected to have enough control to manifest our own chakra wings. I was trying to do just that. When I failed and fell through..." Aoi is pouting by now, recalling exactly how the stupid wings refused to form that she fell from the height she was on.

Kakashi is the one with questions this time. "This chakra wings you are talking about... Does it lets you... uh, you know, fly?" he asks, feeling dumb.

"Yes!" Aoi huffs loudly. She folds her arms as she frowns. "I don't know why those stupid wings just won't manifest! I tried and failed. Every. Single. Time." she tears up in her frustration.

Hiruzen still hasn't sorted his mind with the informations he just received but he can't ignore the little girl before him, ready to cry because she can't get her jutsu right. It's considered jutsu, isn't it? He can almost see the blonde prankster in her place, restraining his tears.

As quickly as her tears appear, Aoi wipes them away. "Um... Hokage-sama? I-I... C-Can I stay here?" she fumbles with her fingers, nervous. "I can't return until someone find me or I managed to construct my chakra wings... So, uh..."

Soft chuckles answered her question as Hiruzen smiles warmly at her. "Of course you're welcome, Aoi-chan. Stay as long as you like. I can get someone to help you with your chakra control, which I assume is what you're having problems to your jutsu."

Aoi lit up in happiness, she doesn't expect him to be so kind towards her. "Thank you, Hokage-sama! I... Thank you so much!" she jumps on her feet with extreme joy.

 **/\\_/\**

Chakra control is stupid, Aoi decides. Sticking leaf to her forehead? She passed that long before she fell to Konoha! Walking up a tree? Now that's impossible. Why must she learns how to walk up a tree, when she is a Tsubasa and she can just floats up to the top? Flying may still be out of her options but she can always float upwards.

Apparently, she can't manifest her chakra wings because her control over her chakra sucks. The Hokage told her that her chakra reserves are larger than children her ages, which factors to her difficulties. She has heard that before, Ikuro said the same thing. Aoi doesn't understand how it's good because it just ruins her chance of flying. Besides, she can always enlarge her reserves when she is older.

 _"OOMPH! Why won't it hit?!"_

...No. That's not her. Not this time, no. Aoi glances around trying to spot another presence. She walks over the bushes to the other half of the training ground and there lies her answer, glaring at what seems to be a target board. Seems to be, because she sees nothing remote of kunai nor shuriken lodged on the wooden board. Those metals are instead scattered anywhere but the board.

"Are you doing target practice or are you supposed to be an ESP?" Aoi announces her presence as she steps out of the bushes, but still standing where she is.

The boy snaps at that, his eyes flashing with caution and underlying sadness. Which confused her, she doesn't even know the boy. He seems to be older than her by a few years, though he seems tiny. The clothes he has on his person don't look fancy either. And frankly, what's a shinobi-in-training doing with a pair of green googles only used by the blacksmiths?

"Who are you?! You're disturbing my target practice, dattebayo! And what's an ESP?!" he yells with extremely loud voice.

Aoi has to wonder how his hearing is still intact with how loud he is. Shouldn't he be deaf by this time now? He doesn't even know what's an ESP is! Ikuro told her that they are awesome people he met during his travels. Apparently, they can levitate objects and control them as they please. There's even more to their abilities, according to Ikuro anyway. The best thing? It doesn't require chakra whatsoever!

"I'm Aoi. Five. And no, I don't! You are practising here and I was on the other side. ESP is awesome!" Aoi answers with the same excitement like the child she is.

The blonde boy is dumbfounded for a short while before he flashes her a face-splitting grin. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be the Hokage, dattebayo! And I'm eight!" he exclaims as he stands up to face her.

The two children share the exact grins, knowing they find company in each other's presence. Somehow, they know they just clicked. And it turns out they really do.

Naruto, is an ignored or hated existence in the village. The villagers don't seem to like him for no apparent reasons. He also isn't the best shinobi, he trains hard but the result just won't show. Now, while Aoi doesn't have it as hard as him, she herself is shunned by her peers. Because Tsubasa should have manifested their chakra wings when they're five. Something she fails to do. And with a prodigy for your older brother, it doesn't ease the ridicules.

So what do they do? Prank someone of course!

"Eeeeep! They're coming from that side, Aoi-chan! Turn around, turn around!" Naruto screams as he frantically waves his hands, rocking the two back and forth in the mid-air.

"Ouch, shut it! Naru, you're going to get us caught!" seeing as Aoi is currently carrying Naruto with her newly-formed and unstable chakra wings, his decision is a bad one. She loses her balance with his rocking and soon the two children plummets to the ground.

"A-AHHHHHH!" with loud, obnoxious wails, the two fall through the air, the trees and lastly the bushes, which fortunately cushion the force of their falls.

No sooner than they land, at least five shinobi with the ranks of chūnin surround them, all looking unhappy with the increase in the varieties and numbers of pranks the last few months. It's safe to say no one is safe from the clutches of the two little pranksters. After the past month when the Tsubasa finally manifests her chakra wings, albeit unstable, it's been getting harder to capture the two now that the sky becomes one of their escape routes and no one can actually reach them when they are soaring.

"I still say it's worth it." Aoi chirps joyfully, a wide grin on her face even in the face of displeased shinobi on all sides.

Naruto isn't any better, he returns the grin much like every other times they are caught after a particularly satisfying prank. "I'm with you, Aoi-chan!"

Despite the fact that it's their side-prank that gets them handful of shinobi on their tails, it's their main-prank that the two are most proud of. Which involves a certain broody, pompous, raven-haired male and his 'tomatoes'. There's never a dull day in Konoha with the prankster-duo working together.

 **/\\_/\**

It's another day of practising her flight for Aoi. Her chakra wings are now stable enough for three-minutes before they poofed away with no trace at all. Seems like home is still far away. She wants to sigh at her misery. Just when she finally constructs her chakra wings and her family (as well as those stupid goons) isn't here to see her accomplishment.

"Sasuke-kun is _mine_ , Ino-pig! Leave him alone!"

"HAH?! In your dreams, Forehead! Sasuke-kun doesn't like you! He likes _me_!"

Yeah. Those kind of views are becoming common whenever she takes to the sky. This 'Sasuke-kun' isn't a very nice person, Naruto says so. Aoi sees him once and agrees with her friend's opinion. Well, she can't say he isn't aesthetically pleasing but it's not enough reason for her to like him. She doesn't get what is it those girls see in him. Perhaps they can see what naked eyes can't?

"They're so loud... Can't I sue them for air pollution?" she mumbles in distaste as she flaps her tiny wings once more. It works for five more flaps before she takes a vertical dive.

And soon she contributes to the air pollution with ear-piercing shrieks at her another fall for the day.

"OOMPH!"

"Ugh...!"

Aoi finds her fall relatively painless this time, something, or rather someone, is softening her landing. One that grunts on the added weight which is her, a boy seemingly her age. The moment she opens her eyes, she sees dark, calculating pools with hint of annoyance tinged in curiosity.

"Uh... Hello...?" Aoi tries, still on top of the boy. She herself is curious, she doesn't remember seeing the boy before.

"Mind getting off?" is his reply. If it isn't obvious before, his irritation is clear now.

Aoi immediately scrambles away, sitting by his side as heat creeps up her cheeks. This boy is pretty blunt and straight-forward! Naruto is an exception because he really can't read the air, but this one isn't Naruto! And she is sure he's one with brain.

The silence stretches as she remains quiet waiting for the boy to speak or get up and leave. She is hoping for the latter though she wouldn't mind the former. Unfortunately, said boy seems to enjoy the silence as he slowly stretches his limbs before plopping down in a position she believes he was in before she fell down on him, his eyes closed.

It appears that Aoi has to be the one to act first. It's bothersome and awkward but it's not like there's any other choice. She pushes herself up, ready to stands on her feet. When the boy finally speaks.

"Nara Shikamaru."

"...Eh?" she responds dumbly, not sure what he's getting at all of a sudden.

"That's my name. I know yours, the flying girl, right? News spread." Shikamaru speaks without even bothering to open his eyes.

For once, Aoi doesn't now how to react. What is it with this boy? He seems so... lazy. "Yeah..." she trails off. Can she go now? Is that fine?

"Uh, see you...?"

Shikamaru still doesn't give her his full attention. "Troublesome. See you, I guess." he mumbles.

Aoi walks away with mixed feelings. She feels like their interactions are left unfinished which makes it hard for her to truly vacate the vicinity. And as if sensing this, Shikamaru finally opens one of his eye to look at her and after seconds of contemplation, he speaks.

"...Your wings are beautiful by the way. Good luck practicing that." he compliments. Something rather rare for the couldn't-be-bothered-boy.

Shikamaru isn't lying. He had his eyes opened when she fell on him. He was watching the clouds floating about when a girl with shining wings appeared in his vision. He truly thinks she was an angel in that moment. Still does. Golden locks that glimmer glossily under the sun's ray, porcelain complexion and eyes with colour so light. As troublesome as that is, she is enchanting.

"Thanks!" Aoi replied after a short moment of bewilderment. She shoots him a happy smile which softens along with her gaze. "...Shikamaru-kun." she whispers shyly.

And then she bolts away. Leaving behind a boy who isn't exactly sure when his face flushed pink. Was it the smile or was it way before that? Shikamaru doesn't know.

 **/\\_/\**

When there're happy days, there is bound to be less happier days. And this particular day, her guardian during her stay in Konoha is currently under dark clouds with raging thunder as he gives out one of his long lectures about how Aoi shouldn't have done what she did.

"This is the 10th time THIS week, that I heard YOU getting in troubles because of your _constant_ pranks with Naruto. You two coloured the Academy with AT LEAST 20 _contrasting_ colours which took 3 Genin teams to clean. I have been receiving COMPLAINS from the Hokage because you _each_ add TWO stacks of paperworks to his desk. And if that wasn't enough, I am demoted to D-RANK missions for one WHOLE month because apparently I CAN'T manage a _five-years-old_ kid to be on her best behaviour!"

...Isn't he done yet? It's been 20 minutes since her guardian started talking and judging from the raising tone he just took, it's 10 more minutes before he finished. Give or take a few. Besides, nor she nor Naruto is at fault. That Academy or whatever it's called is doing poorly in educating their students if her friend is getting mistreated and his lessons sabotaged.

Aoi is five, so she can't go to this Academy due to her young age. She scoffs at that, but this isn't her village where every children learn from their parents and the Elder since they start to toddle about and Konoha has her own rules regarding to the time of peace or something like that.

But that gives no reason why Naruto is treated the way he is! That's just plain wrong and stupid. Even those so-called 'teachers' don't help him. Naruto trains hard, he doesn't give up. He is willing to put in extra effort and even staying overtime to practise whatever techniques he manage to absorb from that pathetic excuse of study institution.

Naruto is nice. They are bad. Naruto is kind. They are bad. Naruto is fun. They are bad. Naruto is Naruto. _Ramen is best._

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!"

The loud shout booms throughout the house and even shakes the windows. It's a wonder how her eardrums are safe and sound. Is it 10 minutes already? Doesn't seem like it's been that long? That one question is the closing of his long lectures, most of the times anyway.

"Are we finished now?" Aoi asks softly in a yawn induced tone. She feels tired and sleepy.

Her guardian was called to the Hokage's office last night, probably the reason for this lecture. Since she was already asleep by the time he returned, he apparently decided to wake her up early for this. Thus her drowsiness.

"...Aoi. I... really don't know what else to say." he sighs defeatedly, his shoulders slumps forward as the thunder disappears from the background and heavy rain falls from the dark clouds.

At this, Aoi finally pouts. Her first reaction about the whole thing. "I'm not at fault. They are just stupid if they can't see that it's wrong to cast Naru aside. Naru isn't bad. They are bad." she huffs, obviously upset.

Her guardian's dejected expression shifts to an understanding, it softens as he gazes at his little charge. Despite her young age, she knows how to sympathise and act according to her heart wishes. Although her methods, he can't really agree with.

"Aa—aah. You got me there, kiddo. Okay, I won't say anything more about this. But you gotta help me with those missions. They are a pain, each and everyone of them. You actually got me at least 10 of them. So take your responsibility, kid." he lifts his hands in surrender before he shrugs then eyeing her to submission.

Aoi huffs but nods. She admits that getting her guardian into troubles isn'f part of the plan. He isn't supposed to get reprimanded for her and Naruto's actions. Though she won't say she regrets what she did.

"And next time..." her guardian places his hand on top of her head, effectively covering her tiny head with a smile on his face. "Don't get caught."

Aoi rewards her guardian with a toothy-smile, her lightly coloured eyes taking a brilliant shine as she nods at him. "Mm!"

He may be grouchy, lazy and pin-prick. But she would still choose him as her guardian all over again. He knows how to be understanding and he doesn't 'judge a book by its cover' (although it seems to be invalid regarding of his choices of book, seriously, it's either dark green or orange).

And that's her guardian for five months now, Hatake Kakashi.

 **/\\_/\**

Like every other journey that begins and ends, hers is starting to see the finish line.

"Naru, look, look! I'm flying! I'm not falling! And I passed 5 minutes moments ago! That means it's close to perfection!"

Aoi is flying in circles as she loops vertically and horizontally, spiralling left and right as she enjoys her newfound freedom in the air. She is practising her flight, like usual, with Naruto below watching her in the training ground where they first met. It's the tenth month since she fell to Konoha.

"That's awesome, dattebayo! You finally master it, Aoi-chan!" Naruto cheers with a huge grin plastered on his face. He shares her happiness in her accomplishment.

"Whee–hee!" she loops upwards three times before diving straight downwards when she reaches the maximum point of the loop, landing neatly before her friend.

"I'm awesome!" she exclaims in pure joy as she clasps her hands over Naruto's and starts to shake them up and down in repeated motions.

Naruto's grin soon takes a mischievous glint. "Aoi-chan. What do you say for another prank?" he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"...Do you even need to ask, Naru?" Aoi replies with a coy smile, obviously sharing the same sentiment with her friend. "Let's go!"

That day, the Hokage's office is filled with stacks of paperworks which is said to have reached the highest record since the Sandaime's reign. 90 percent of the papers are contributed by the duo-prankster who seem to believe that the more the colours the better.

 **/\\_/\**

"Ne... Why am I doing this again?" Aoi mumbles in a daze as she struggles carrying an extra weight which is at least three times her weight.

The person she is carrying hums indistinctly. "Because Hokage-sama isn't happy when you and Naruto caused him to sleep in his office for three nights straight?" he suggests lazily.

Aoi grumbles at this. What's so harmful about paperworks anyway? It's not like she nor Naruto asks the villagers to file complains to the old man. They must have so much free time. "But why am I carrying you? I'm not a transportation!"

"Because it's faster. And safer. Just do it. I'm not even heavy." he replies with a tone of finality as he returns to his reading.

...Not heavy? Who is _he_ kidding?! It feels like she's lifting ten sacks of rice! Aoi thinks discreetly and grumpily, pouting on the outside.

"...And? What's this mission about anyway?" she asks, slightly curious why it's so important that she goes.

Her guardian, yes, it's Kakashi, takes a while to answer. "Hmm... I suppose I can tell you. Have you heard of the Kamikaze?" he peers to see her reaction from the corner of his eye.

"Can't say I'm familiar with that term. The Wind God? What's that even?" she replies, her eyebrows scrunched as she tries to think of the word.

Kakashi seems to find it acceptable, so he continues. "It's a group of shinobi, few in numbers. You can say they act as mercenaries. They aren't tied to any villages and they take the jobs directly from the client."

"And? There's nothing wrong with that, is there? I still don't see why I'm required."

"The thing is..." Kakashi sighs at her impatience. It seems she picks up more than a handful of traits from the blonde. "No one knows of their identities. They accept the job, complete it then vanish without a trace. The only identification is the masks they wore; white porcelain mask with green spiral painted on the fore and green stripes on the sides."

"Okay...?" Aoi scrunches her nose, still confused.

"That's why it's a problem. We can't know if it's a neutral organisation or an aggressive one trying to gather resources for something bad, like war for one thing. And that maybe, the group works for one of the Hidden Villages. Not knowing anything complicates things."

Aoi doesn't really agree with that logic. She means, does Konoha have to know everything? It's not like this group is causing troubles directly. It's just that since they keep to themselves, others are having doubts if they could be a threat and another power in-the-making that could probably rival them and upset the existing balance.

"The members have been followed by countless shinobi from different villages. But no one succeeded in catching them or even saw where they went. Then you came along. We didn't know that flying is possible until you came. Hokage-sama thinks that perhaps, these people have specialised way of transportation like you do. So maybe you can catch them."

That's it? Because _she_ can fly? A plausible reason, though not entirely reasonable. Being able to fly will certainly allow them another option to pursue this individual. Although, she isn't sure about this. If they aren't even a criminal, why is it necessary to do so to this extent? Also...

"Then why am I carrying you if catching this person is my purpose?"

Kakashi has the decency to flinch and stop his reading, even for a very fleeting moment. "...Because I can read this way?"

Well... He deserves that fall five feet from the air. Unfortunately, her guardian is a fine shinobi and thus manages to evade the harsh landing and somersault to save his ass instead. He doesn't even shout. Aoi would have liked it if he did. What a letdown.

Soon the mission returns full-throttle and the two have to camouflage themselves as they quietly and stealthily follow their target as he (presumed) completes his mission for the client. The shinobi fits the description Kakashi told her; white porcelain mask, a green spiral etched on the fore, 3 horizontal green stripes on the left side and 2 criss-crossed green stripes on the right side. The stake-out lasts days before the Kamikaze member bids his final greeting to the client.

Kakashi motions for the young girl to follow and quietly, they trails the masked member to a desolated forest before he disappears in the matter of seconds. Like the various reports exactly. "...Do you see anything notable, Aoi?" he questions as the two approaches the place where the shinobi was.

Judging from her guardian's reaction to the shinobi's disappearance and how he stays with her to investigate the vicinity, no one expects her to successfully fulfil her part in the mission. Well, who can say otherwise? She _is_ five.

Aoi hums as she searches around along with Kakashi. Nothing seems to be out of place other then the fact that said shinobi vanishes right before their very eyes. According to the silver-haired jōnin, it wasn't high-speed movements and the chakra signature just... vanished.

"I'll look above. You can search the ground and nearby trees if you want to." Aoi speaks before she summons her chakra wings and pushes herself upwards without glancing at her guardian.

On the other hand, Kakashi seems to be used to such treatment and only nods and hums lightly in assent as he scours his surroundings. After what seems to be a while, the little angel he knew turns into a little devil in disguise. Aoi is actually quite blunt and sadistic. She sees no qualm in punishing those she believes deserve it. And she is her-own-pace kind of girl. Often he finds himself forced to follow accordingly to her wishes.

Aoi herself is currently looking through the chakra residues around the air, anywhere normally out of reach for ordinary shinobi. She flies freely through the sky, her eyes trying to spot anything different. And she immediately knows when she finds the right one. She feels it, senses it and recognises it. However, she knows this proof isn't actually a proof and no one can identify it if isn't for her. So she stays quiet and watches as the tiny chakra residues slowly mixes with the nature and vanishes.

"Ah, Aoi. Find anything?" Kakashi asks as he sees her descending gracefully, a praiseworthy feat seeing as the girl used to trip on her feet and land on her nose which brought her to the Konoha hospital for the longest of time.

"Not much." she shakes her head as her feet softly touches the ground. "I can feel the chakra residues, so a jutsu was definitely used. I can't tell what exactly before it disappeared."

Kakashi contemplates this, a serious look marring his features. Then he shrugs and smiles at her. "Oh well. That's one mystery solved. It must be an interesting jutsu, to be able to vanish like that. Let's go home, Aoi." he offers his hand towards her.

Instead of taking it, Aoi huffs and stares at his hand with disdain. "I'm not carrying you home." she states with a glare and a firm tone to match before she conjures her chakra wings and flies away, leaving her guardian behind.

"...To think I thought of you as an angel. It must have been an illusion..." he mutters to himself, sounding depressed.

* * *

 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _I need more time to work on a chapter of Blue Sky, so I posted this two-shots instead. Fan fiction somehow won't let me make it one file, so I have to split the one-shot from two-shots into two parts, meaning there'll be four parts in total. This story is unrelated to Blue Sky and is just something I make when I need a breather. Just to tell you, I won't post the last part of this two-shots soon!_

 _Reviews are very much appreciated!_


	5. Two-shots: Wings of The Sky-dwellers - 2

**Two-shots: Wings of The Sky-dwellers**

* * *

 **Two-shots: Part Two of First-shot**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

* * *

It appears that news spread around the village that Aoi flew someone on a mission and now children are asking her to be a 'transportation', so to speak.

"It's okay, isn't it, Aoi-chan? You and I fly all the time, dattebayo!" the blonde boy exclaims as he pumps his fists in the air.

Aoi sighs exasperatedly, rubbing her non-existent wrinkles on her temple. "But that doesn't mean you can advertise me as a form of transportation to carry people through the sky..."

Naruto huffs at this, his arms crossed. "You're no fun, Aoi-chan." he pouts slightly.

After another sigh, Aoi finds herself flying children - who are Naruto's friends - through the air. It's a refreshing change since she usually only flies Naruto, and their flights are nearly always pranks-related. As it turns out, the laziest boy actually enjoys running his hands through the fluffy white clouds with shining onyx eyes, the emo-boy is even discreetly smiling like a kid he is in the blue sky, the loud, obnoxious dog-boy on the other hand, is shivering and his complexion turns blue even as he exclaims how excited he is, the bug-boy expresses his preferred desire to fly is with his colony he has yet to find, the pinkhead acts scared while internally shouting satisfaction and the blond she usually fights with finds the flight to be both disturbing and intriguing at the same time.

The sun has set by the time the group of children are satisfied and part ways. Everyone has a semblance of happiness etched on their faces which is reward enough for Aoi to go through that transportation ordeal. Though she may need to track this guardian of her and get even with him since he is the reason why people suddenly get the idea of turning her into one in the first place. Maybe the destruction of those beloved orange books is a valid method.

"I hope they don't make it a habit." Aoi mumbles to herself. She loves flying, but not actually carrying someone with her since that would restrict her freedom in the air. There's also the fact that her kind, the Tsubasa, isn't supposed to be closely mingling with the land-dwellers.

If these land-dwellers know of the Tsubasa's existence and unique ability of flight, then they might be dragged into the services of one of these shinobi villages. The addition of Tsubasa to a village would be a boost of power. That in returns, might cause another war to maintain the balance of power throughout the lands. That's why, Aoi can't stay too long in the village for anyone to get 'ideas'.

Aoi sighs at her line of thoughts. She is only five and she has to think these overly complicated things. She blames Ikuro for putting philosophies into her head when she should be practicing her chakra control to master her chakra wings. Which makes her wonder... why don't her brother just teach her chakra control like the Hokage instructed her to? Surely Shichi knows that.

"...You there."

"Huh?" Aoi blinks at the sudden voice snapping her out of her mind. She turns to see a boy, presumably around Naruto's age. He is calling her, isn't he? "Can I help you?" she questions without moving from where she stands.

The boy has chocolate brown locks loosely secured with white bands near the tail of his hair. What stands out the most is his eyes; a pair of white, lightly lavender tinted eyes. It's similar, if not the same, to Hinata's, one of the children Naruto brought with him earlier. He seems to be hesitating from the way his gaze shifts minutely.

"...Can you...fly me up to the sky? Just a moment will do." he finally speaks.

It's a definite surprise to Aoi when a boy she doesn't know, practically a stranger, comes up to her and asks a favour like those children before. Has her ability of flight becomes this popular? She initially wants to refuse but she sees something in the boy's eyes and in the words he speaks.

Seems to her, it isn't about mere childish curiosity he has. What is it? She wants to know what.

"Okay." she agrees easily.

This way Aoi can learn what is his motive for asking her to fly him. It doesn't seem to be anything simple from his apparent reluctance in asking for favours and the hesitations present in his body gestures.

He appears to be taken aback momentarily. Probably not expecting her to be so compliant with his request. He nods and the silence stretches before he offers his name out of courtesy.

"Hyūga Neji. I appreciate for agreeing with my... sudden request." he speaks awkwardly.

Aoi waves him off. It's clear to her he isn't a conversationalist. There's no need to make the boy suffers from awkward social interactions. "It's fine. It's nothing new now." she admits truthfully, albeit begrudgingly.

"Ah, and I'm Tsubasa Aoi. I need to hold you though, so you need to bear with me." she informs him, knowing he needs to prepare himself for the contact. He seems reserved, not the touchy-freely kind. Like that broody boy with the darkest shade of black.

It doesn't come as a surprise to her when Neji does wince minutely at her suggestion. He breathes in and breathes out with only the slightest sign of his chest rising up and down. When he opens his eyes next, firm determination shines through, eliciting a grin from the excited Aoi.

"'Kay!" she cheers, motioning for the boy to come closer, which he does after a short contemplation. Aoi circles her arms around him, lifting him by the crook of his arms. Soon, her chakra wings spread out and ignoring the minuscule flinch from her passenger, she takes off the ground.

The whirling wind caresses her cheeks gently like it always does, the freedom that comes with her flight is something she loves dearly. Aoi loves flying.

And it seems Neji feels the same. From her viewpoint, she can't see his full expression, but the tiniest quirk of his lips, the slightly gaped mouth, the sparkles in his pale eyes and the fraction lifted eyebrows, speaks volume of his overjoyed emotion. He seems to be actively suppressing it though.

Somehow, seeing him so happy makes her even happier. So just for the sake of it, Aoi takes her passenger for a longer flight than she did for the children before him.

The end comes abruptly, and he isn't the only one dejected. Everything ends and thus comes a new beginning. Even so, both of them wish for the moment to last.

"I will see you again?" she questions, trying to keep her hopeful tone at bay. Aoi dislikes flying people except for a few, and this boy she just met appears to be in that fair few.

Neji doesn't give her the response she wants and he looks pained somehow. He opens his mouth before closing it again. This happens a few times. He grits his teeth as he turns his back on her. "I thank you. But this won't happen again." is his parting words to her before he disappears on her.

That's not nice. Doesn't she deserve more? And she actually enjoys flying with him even when she's not pranking someone like when she's with Naruto. Too bad he seems to be having a bad digestion problem, what's from his expressions and all.

Aoi turns her back to walk towards the opposite side and wonders when Naruto will devise another of his grand master plans. It's getting incredibly peaceful (and boring) lately.

 **/\\_/\**

"That was fun! We have to do it again soon!" Naruto fist-pumps with a wide grin rivalling the sun in term of brightness.

Aoi mirrors his joyful expression, displaying her happiness for him to see. The two of them has just executed one of Naruto's most ingenious pranks ever and currently has handful of ANBU tracking them. Of course with their stealth and carefully planned exit, hiding from those masterful shinobi are easy.

Well, not really.

Naruto's plan is missing something vital, which is false trail. That's something she can easily create thanks to those lessons from when she was back at Kūchūgakure. The Tsubasa is supposed to hide their existence after all, so it isn't weird for them to have unique jutsu to offset their trackers.

"Guess they're not around anymore... We can lift the cloak." Aoi whispers to her side after observing the quiet surrounding forest.

The two children are currently in the outskirt of the village, in the thick forest on the east side on the edge of the village. The area is usually training grounds for seasoned shinobi, mostly jōnin and few chūnin. Those ANBU won't look for them here.

Naruto grins triumphantly as he glances around to see no company other then his partner but huge trees. "Yosha! First successful escape! See that, Aoi-chan?! I did it, dattebayo!" he hollers, causing few nearby birds to take flight.

"You mean, we did it, Naru." Aoi raises her eyebrow with a smirk. If it's not for her contribution to their planning for exit, she suspects they both would be surrounded by unhappy shinobi by now.

Looking left and right to observe her environment, Aoi finds she isn't familiar with this part of the village. "Naru, this place? Is this the place you said you discovered after following a jōnin?" she faces the grinning boy.

"Got that right! They won't look for us here! I'm a genius, dattebayo!" he cheers loudly, fists pumped into the air. It's a coincidence that he finds this forest, he learns that not many frequents here because the sheer difficulty of the ground to train in.

One Academy student, and one who is too young to be qualified as one, the pair is unlikely to be found here if they know what's good for them. Naruto realises that this place is their safe haven because exactly that reason.

Not for Aoi.

"...Wait a minute. You followed a jōnin to get here, right, Naru?" she begins to feel herself sweating, she is getting restless.

"Yup!" Naruto confirms just as cheerful, his eyes scanning the thick forest enclosing them and enjoying the quiet, serene atmosphere which feels like the two of them are the only people there.

Okay. This **doesn't** sound good. "And you said you only see jōnin coming here, with infrequent chūnin...?" she continues, her tone dropping steadily.

"...Yeah. What's with all these questions, Aoi-chan? You're making me confused, dattebayo!" he pouts, his arms crossed indignantly. He doesn't like it when he's left out of the circle.

Aoi raises her hand to show him she's listening, but also that now's not the time. "Bear with me, Naru. One last question. Those jōnin and chūnin... Are they well-equipped on their journey here?" her voice is almost a quiet whisper.

To be very honest, Naruto doesn't understand why his friend is showing signs of hyperventilation, he got that right, didn't he? Anyway, he's not sure why she's acting like something's wrong after their first successful escape. And what's with these questions?

"Well, yeah. They bring their weapon pouch, some additional weaponries like katana or tantō, and I think some of them bring food supplies too." he frowns as he tries to recall everything he can. After which, he shoots his friend another confused gaze.

"What's this about, Aoi-chan?" Naruto asks impatiently, he doesn't like guessing-game. His partner-in-crime is too smart to elude him and he just can't balance her in that regards.

In all honesty, Aoi loves the golden ball of sunshine that is Naruto, the ramen-lover and unjustly treated boy who has an incurable love for good pranks. However, she admits that sometimes his brain is rarely in use when he deigns it unnecessary because he loves actions more than he is thinking.

"...This forest... is a training ground, Naru. A high-levelled one at that. Which explains its patrons..." she replies, her tone is wavering and her figure begins to shake.

The slight fear he notices in her tone had his eyes widening in alarm, he realises that they are in a serious situation now. "We are... in danger?" he questions unsurely, and his tone mirrors her.

Whatever answer Aoi could have offered him is lost as the very next second after Naruto finished his sentence, a loud, howling roar is heard throughout the forest, shaking the fragile branches of the trees. The only other noises are their battered breaths and the closing in thumps of a pair of large feet

 **"GRWOARRWH!"** a huge bear soon shows its head from between the foliages. It stands on at least four times his or her height, its eyes fixated on its preys for the day; two children.

 _"RUN!"_

Instantly, Aoi has Naruto in tow, her chakra wings lashes out faster than she ever had and she takes flight right after it's complete. The gigantic bear is hot on their trails and after her recent flight from escaping several ANBU, adding to her newly-formed chakra wings, she is unable to take them up high and fast to speed.

"Aoi-chan! Its claws are upon us, dattebayo! He's closing in!" he sounds panicked, his feet dangling dangerously close to the rough reach of the growling bear.

"Tch!" Aoi clicks her tongue unhappily, she tries to boost her speed, raise her height, but to no avail. It's hard enough with extra weight on her, she can't increase what she already does.

This bear is not only huge, its fast and powerful. It's exactly why only high-levelled shinobi comes to this place to train. If there's more than one of this creature after them, then their ends are guaranteed. And they aren't exactly discreet about giving away their positions.

"Naru! We need diversion tactic! I can't keep this up! Its going to catch up to us at this rate!" she shouts at him, indirectly asking for his two cents in to bolster her plan.

Already used to her rather abrupt command, Naruto immediately gets the gears in his brain turning. "I can kawarimi myself to a safe distance! Can you handle yourself?" his question is as agitated, trying to avoid the clawing at him.

"Denied! It will get to you if it can't me! We need something else! A distraction, whatever!" she tightens her grips on him.

Aoi unconsciously realises that this reckless boy may just charge ahead with his incomplete plan if at least his cherishes people are safe. Loneliness has done a great deal on her friend for an ingenious prankster, and one of them is his unwavering desire to protect those he cares about. Even when he is placed in the face of dangers.

True to her worries, Naruto doesn't listen to her warning. A grin stretches across his face, one that isn't as bright as it usually is. "Commencing! _In_ _three..._ " he starts the count-down despite his friend's strong refusal.

"NO! Naru!" Aoi shouts in alarm, not wanting to execute this plan.

 _"Two..."_ he continues still, the grin firmly etches on his features.

"I won't do this!" she yells angrily, her strong grips on him would have left glaring marks by now.

 _"One..."_ his voice is dropping to a whisper, yet the grin stays.

"Naru! Please, no! Don't do this!" she pleads, begs, whatever she can do to make him rethink all of this. Tears are starting to form in her eyes.

Another dangerously close attack at the golden-haired boy, and the grin on his face grows just a bit more. "Sorry, Aoi-chan... _It's zero..._ " he mutters only for both of them to hear.

Naruto quickly weaves through the few hand seals to perform the kawarimi jutsu as he is taught at the Academy and locates his target a distance away, an unsafe distance for him but the lost of weight on his friend will allow her to soar higher, thus saving her even if not him.

 _ **"GO!"**_ he commands, the shout containing his whole emotions.

Reluctantly, with a very heavy heart and bleary vision caused by her restrained tears, Aoi slips off her hold on him. The last thing she sees of him is that trademark grin plastered on his whiskered face, before he poofs away to somewhere she can't quite sense. The extra height she gains after releasing her friend put her outside of the enormous bear's reach.

But not Naruto.

 **"GROARRRWH!"** the bear lunges at the young boy appearing on a branch of a nearby tree, ready to earn its meal after losing one.

 _"NARU!"_ she screams for her friend, her still grinning friend, in his death's door at the hands of a bear.

The next few seconds is a blur. What should be drained of chakra comes bursting to life as she gazes at the submitting blue-eyed friend she grows to care for, her chakra wings blaze magnificently to a size one has never seen, the drastic change takes the bear by surprise and it stops it assault momentarily, giving her enough time to weave through a set of unique hand seals she has only performed once before.

It ended horribly before, with her prodigy of a brother taking the blame and her receding to a far distance. It can't now. Whirling tornado is expelled from her lips, it grows in size and strength as it heads to its target in devastating speed. It sweeps everything in its path, as destruction is what its known for.

The next thing to happen is hardly comprehended; the gob-smacked blonde gets his hand forcibly pulled by the powered girl and whisked away in a flight so fast that it took only one blink of an eye to lose sight of everything the second before. They are out of the forest and are now in the safety of Konoha, the eastern outskirt part of the village.

In that moment, her newly-found strength fails her, and Aoi drops down vertically with her now safe friend, landing in a pile of bushes to soften the blow. Whatever it was that powered her is subsiding as her adrenaline wears off. And her grand-sized chakra wings? It vanishes completely, not even a hint of what it was.

It takes minutes of ragged breathings before Naruto breaks the battered silence with his infectious grin and loud exclamation. "That's... That's just AWESOME, dattebayo! You're awesome, Aoi-chan!" he grins at her haggard expression.

The children are sprawled on the grassy ground in no particular comfortable position, in fact, assuming that they just free-fall from the sky, they are lucky they don't break any bones. Extremely so.

"...I am, eh?" Aoi returns tiredly, her eyebrow raised cockily with a small quirk of her lips. What's left of the tears she has accumulated rolls down her cheeks, her chest roses up and down in relief at seeing her friend safe lying next to her side.

Naruto doesn't falter, in fact, his grin grows wider if it's actually possible. "You ARE!" he hollers in awe.

The two children stare into the other's eyes, finding everything they need to say in them. Understanding dawns between them and the grins are soon mirrored to perfection. What follows is the free, unrestrained laughters of two happy children.

Naruto is safe. She is safe. They are safe.

 **/\\_/\**

Time passes when you're having fun. How true is that statement for Tsubasa Aoi who twelve months ago from today, landed on the arms of a Konoha shinobi who was on his way home and would latter be her guardian for the whole duration of her stay in Konohagakure.

"...It's close." she murmurs as she gazes at a certain direction in the sky, where the clouds housing her home will soon show itself.

Tsubasa always has an instinct towards home, as all migratory birds are, and right here, right now, she knows her home, where she was born and raised, is closing in to Konoha. It is time for her to go home, for her to say goodbye.

"One week..." she deduces the time it will take for her home to arrive close enough to where she currently is.

That is also the span of time she is allowed to deliver her farewells to everyone she has came to know and care for the past twelve months. It is initially unexpected, the two-digits number of her acquaintances now, especially with how she pranks nearly the whole population of the village. But she does.

 **One week.**

That is the time she has left in Konohagakure and her villagers.

 **/\\_/\**

Kakashi has it weird with his little charge this past two days now. How to say it? She is turning... mild and mellow these days. The amounts of D-Rank missions he was tasked with due to her mess-ups throughout the village is non-existent. It has decreased considerably after she mastered her chakra wings, but he would still receive the occasional forced, low-ranked mission. Not to mention, her smiles these days...

"Okay. That's it, kiddo. I need to know what happened." he begins, his tone stern but laced with concern. "You're being unusually quiet since you return from the Hokage Mountain two days ago." he points out.

Aoi, who has been lounging around the sofa when she is normally out, wreaking havoc around the village with her trusty partner, looks up from her scroll. "What? Am I not allowed to be calm and collected once in a while? You say I take _too_ much pages from Naru, so I decided to take some from _you_ too." she responds in a somewhat playful manner.

"...That's a sarcasm if I ever heard one." he notes with slight defeated sigh. Sensing that she isn't about to speak what's on her mind, he walks closer and settles himself next to her side on the sofa. "I'm serious, kiddo. What's wrong?" he asks sincerely, his tone filled with honest concern.

It is hard enough to tell him the truth and with how her guardian is acting right now, it's even harder. Aoi raises her gaze levelly, meeting his lone eye that radiates only care for someone precious. She swallows.

"...Kaka-nii, I..." she pauses, biting her lips as she finds it hard to continue. Still, even with her hesitation, he is willing to wait for her to finish.

"I am returning to where I came from." Aoi first notices the widening of his eye, the creases of his temple and the scrunching of his eyebrows and nose. She becomes too accustomed to her guardian that reading him is posing no challenges at all.

"I'm going to return to Kūchūgakure." she repeats, her tone steadfast.

Silence dawns on them as he processes what he just heard and tries to accept what he comprehends while she waits for him to understand. Twelve months are a long time, long enough to cultivate attachments.

"...I see." Kakashi finally speaks, his tone low and resigned. A tired smile is on his face and she can still detect it even with his mask on. "You're returning home, eh, kiddo?" he mutters.

Ah. He is taking this hard. Her guardian, really. It's so obvious that he will be lonely without her and the mere thought of her leaving is making him feel alone. And she can't say she doesn't share his sentiments.

"Yeah. I am. That's why..." she trails off, and instead leans further towards his chest, enclosing herself with his warmth. "Let's spend the remaining days together, okay?" she whispers.

"...You know me too well." he chuckles, ruffling her head with one hand, and the other wrapping around the golden-haired girl. "I will miss you, Aoi." he says seriously, his feelings palpable.

Without missing a beat, she replies. "Me too, Kaka-nii. I will miss you too." she admits truthfully.

And if anyone finds them snuggling to each other that night and the nights after for the remaining days of her stay, there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

 **/\\_/\**

One week is too fast of a time, it passes by in a blink of an eye and faster than Aoi imagines it to be. She is at her last day now and she can definitely feels her home arriving tomorrow at dawn, a perfect time for her to leave unnoticed. Especially after finishing her farewells to everyone.

Everyone but one.

"Yo, Aoi-chan! What will we do today? You said you have a grand master plan for a once-in-a-century prank! Let me in on that!" Naruto comes to sit next to her where she is sitting on the Shodaime's carved head.

Whereas Naruto favours the Yondaime's head as a resting place because he admires the man who is said to be strongest of the Hokage, Aoi prefers the Shodaime's head because it's the only one which was round in the head and not spiky like the rest, the obviously better choice for her butt.

"Today." Aoi grins, appearing more evil than she usually was when concocting plans. Her excited friend bounced his head up and down, impatient.

"We will colour the whole village _**orange**_!" she exclaims happily, clapping her hands once to show her barely restrained enthusiasm.

The mention of colour and orange has Naruto brightening up more than it's possible, his blue eyes gleaming with mirth. "Orange? You're serious, Aoi-chan?" he repeats to make sure.

And she nods sagely at her friend. "Of course..." she halts, then winks teasingly. _"dattebayo!"_ she mimics him just for the fun of it. The grin he directs her way is truly worth it.

That afternoon, the whole village of Konohagakure is unified under the glory of the colour orange, the colour a certain shinobi in-the-making is known for due to its blinding and unusual shade for a stealthy profession that is shinobi. The village is in an uproar, of course. Though strangely, the shinobi pursuing their little group of two gives up rather quickly this time and their escape is successful as it has always been for a long time now.

"Look at them, Aoi-chan! They're all orange, dattebayo! Orange, I tell you!" Naruto cackles happily from the top of the Yondaime's head, overseeing the whole village.

Glancing to her side where the blonde is, she allows herself a smile, one that is slightly sorrowful. "Ne, Naru? Want to shout out our dreams here?" she peers at him from her peripheral vision.

Quickly turning his head at that, he grins instantaneously. "That's a good idea, Aoi-chan! I'm going first!" he exclaims excitedly.

Naruto begins to inhale a large amount of air, so much that his stomach visibly bulge with oxygen. With his sparkling blue eyes that never seems to lose its glow and tone confident and steady, he shouts.

 _ **"I WILL BECOME HOKAGE!"**_

The force of his shout echoes throughout the village and is no doubt heard by most if not all. It's a declaration, as well as a promise, a goal and a dream he is sure to achieve. One day, the name Uzumaki Naruto will be engraved as the strongest Hokage there is, and his face, will be carved into this mountain here.

"Your turn, Aoi-chan!" he turns to face her, his trademark grin in place.

Following after Naruto's example, Aoi fills her lungs with air, though unlike him, her whole body structure is compatible with high concentration of oxygen and thus when she voices it out, it rings clearer and louder than he does.

 _ **"I WILL RETURN TO KONOHA!"**_

This time, her proclamation of dream sounds across the village and there is little doubt everyone hears it. And for anyone who knows her enough, they certainly realise the implications behind her dream, a vow to be fulfilled in her lifetime.

"...Eh? Wha–What do you mean by that, Aoi-chan?" the blonde has his eyes wide in confusion, it is almost alarming.

Aoi knows he won't take it easy like her guardian for twelve months, he is her best partner, and she, his; they aren't supposed to be apart. And she knows, unlike her, he doesn't know that her presence isn't meant to be forever in Konoha. Her appearance in itself is a farewell in a latter date.

"Naru... I am going to return to my home, where my family is waiting for me." she tells him softly, her eyes show the complexity of her emotions on the situation.

The abruptness of the news takes him by complete surprise and his brain simply short-circuited from trying to understand and accept that his friend, little sister, and the first person to take his hand, is going away to a place he doesn't know.

"N-No... No, no, no! This can't be!" Naruto shakes his head frantically, refusing to understand.

"I-I mean, we are family, aren't we, Aoi-chan?! You're my family, aren't you?! So w-why...? Why?!" his tone slowly fades to the background, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

It hurts to see her friend crying his little heart out like he is doing. It truly hurts. But she still has to say it. Naruto has a dream to chase and realise, a big dream for the good of everyone in this village. And her... She has to do something to help out her friend on his journey to greatness, doesn't she?

"We are family, Naru." she confirms with a smile, small and sad as she gazes to meet his tearful blue eyes.

"But so are they." she motions her hand towards the village resting beneath their feet, letting her eyes wander to sweep the sceneries she is sure to miss.

Aoi faces him, determination is shining brilliantly in her light coloured orbs. "You're going to be Hokage, aren't you? The best there is? Here, they are, your family, Naru." her smile grows.

"And so am I. So one day, I will return to this village, to Konoha, for my family, for you Naru." she continues, catching hold of his gaze.

Another silence takes place between them, the space seems to widen, as if the nature itself is effectively separating them. What's keeping them linked is only their gazes at one another. She begins to part her lips to speak more words as she lets the wind carries her messages to her friend.

 _"That's why..."_

And the rest is lost on anyone else but her friend standing by the carved head of the Yondaime.

By the next dawn, Tsubasa Aoi has left Konoha without anyone's notice, not even her twelve months guardian and friend-partner-brother. The next time anyone from Konoha will see her, is nine years from this fateful day.

* * *

 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _This is the last part of the first-shot! Again, this is just a story I write when I need a breather, so no rush there. I still need feedback on my writing though._

 _Reviews are very much appreciated!_


	6. Five-shots: Tree of Ino-Shika-Cho

**Five-shots: Tree of Ino-Shika-Cho**

* * *

" _I can never forget. I remember from the moment of my birth, the second I breathe and the minute I walk. From all these memories, the first time we met is always special to me. You know me more than others ever could. Which is why, should I perish, my memories are yours to have. For I want you to always remember me." —Yuuwa_

* * *

 **Seed**

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I own only the OCs.

* * *

Knowledge is often the key to determine success and failure when accessed by the qualified one then utilised by the sharp one under the protection of the strong one. It is by this notion that the Ino-Shika-Cho is formed, as well as the _Tree_ as a shelter. The 'hidden' member of the Yamanaka-Nara-Akimichi-combination, the Kaigaku.

"Don't be shy now, that's Ino-chan there. She wants to play with Yuuwa." a man gently speaks to his daughter clinging to his leg, nudging her forwards so she can show herself.

Another young girl is standing there, but she is grinning widely without taking cover behind her father who shares her hair colour. "Hi! You're Yuuwa-chan, right? I'm Ino! Let's play!" she chirps, taking the other girl's hand and tugging twice.

The little girl with the chocolate brown hair reaching her shoulder hesitantly looks up, her lime green eyes reflecting her confusion as she searches for her father's permission. A small quirk on his lips is enough answer for her to shift her gaze to the blonde holding her hand, green meeting cool crystal blue.

"Okay..." she replies softly before letting herself be pulled by the blonde to wherever she intends to take them to.

The two three-years-old are soon settled by the small flower garden before the Nara-Kaigaku shared forest, a narrow man-made stream by the side to complete the picturesque scene. From this distance, the fathers can see their daughters chatting amiably, with the blonde doing nearly all the speaking and the brunette barely responding.

"Yuuwa-chan is a shy one, isn't she? Unlike a certain Kaigaku I know." Inoichi comments with a teasing smile, peering at the male beside him through his peripheral vision.

Kiyoku scoffs at his friend, absent of hostility, his arms crossed. "Well, Ino-chan certainly takes after you. She is bubbly. Won't sit still that one."

"Mm-mm. My daughter is adorable, isn't she?" the blonde shinobi nods in assent, any signs of him being one of the highest-ranking member of Konoha Intelligence Division is moot.

This display earns a defeated shake of head from the Head of the Kaigaku, he should have known better than egging his old teammate, the one 'key' to his 'lock'. The bond the Yamanaka and the Kaigaku shares is special, thus why Kiyoku believes that young Yuuwa is in good hands with little Ino, the two complements each other.

"Think they'll be a good combination?" Inoichi elbows his longtime friend, his blue eyes locked on the two girls— Ino is weaving flowers into crown as her mother taught her and nudging Yuuwa to do the same — by the garden.

Kiyoku turns his gaze to his shy daughter, the smallest of smile on her lips, mirroring his own. "Of course." he replies simply and confidently.

The two fathers know, that this meeting will begin a long-lasting friendship and a bond so special it is only for the two of them.

 **|_O_|**

The famous Ino-Shika-Cho combination is well-known throughout the Five Elemental Nations. But hardly anyone outside of Konoha knows of the Kaigaku who completes the group.

The Kaigaku.

It is a clan associated to the Akimichi like the Nara and Yamanaka, united under an oath and loyal to Konohagakure.

 _"—and this is cosmos! It stands for peace, modesty and beauty! When giving it to someone, it can say 'joy in love and life'! Mommy taught all of them to me! She says it's the hanakotoba!" the blonde girl beams proudly. It's a tough work to learn each words by heart, truly._

 _"It's like violet...?" the brunette contributes few words in, her voice soft and almost a gentle whisper in the breeze._

 _"Woah...! You remember that from just me talking once? You must be so smart, Yuuwa-chan!"_

 _"E-Eh? No... it's just... how I am." she confesses, her eyes directed anywhere but at the questioning blue pools._

Because whereas the Nara bears geniuses with peerless intellects, the Kaigaku bears children with flawless, eidetic memory.

 _"Father? Why does a nation wage wars when deaths and sufferings are the end result no matter which one wins?" a curious pair of light green eyes inquires a similar pair of orbs, only with more wisdom._

 _"Hmm. That's a difficult question, young one. A nation is made of people. To know the answer to your question, one must know the people first. Search for their motives." the older man answers, his rough hand gently cradling the child's head._

 _"If I learn all there is to know to people, their secrets and all, will I have my answer then?" her eyes has now earned that determined gleam, a fire has been lit._

 _"Well, there's only one way to find out and you know which, Yuuwa."_

And whereas the Akimichi possesses unparalleled appetite for food, the Kaigaku possesses unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

 _"This person will be, so to speak— key —to the safety of your endless memories. Only she will know what you hoard entirely in your mind and no one else. That, is the bond the Kaigaku shares with the Yamanaka." the man intones clearly, his gaze sternly trained on the young girl sitting in seiza before him._

 _"Will I choose this person myself?" she asks, more curious than disturbed._

 _"Of course. It's a bond that lasts a lifetime, you will do well in having one that is of your choice." he confirms with a nod, his thoughts wandering to his own key person, the grinning idiotic blonde who is always too cheerful for his liking._

 _"A... key. Only the two of us..." she mumbles._

Thus a bond between the Yamanaka and the Kaigaku is sacred and special, one-of-a-kind.

The Kaigaku is known as the 'Storage', a walking archive, and so on as a reference to their impeccable memory and depthless knowledge. There are only a handful of places where one can find a Kaigaku, where they are most irreplaceable. The Konoha's Archive for one, no file within the building escapes the knowledge of the Kaigaku working there.

It's not often, but there are few instances where a Kaigaku diverts from the general workplaces with a talent unique to each one. The Konoha's Hospital has some Kaigaku working as medic-nin, only those who particularly excels in chakra control amongst their clansmen.

If not, the Kaigaku's own factory, is mostly self-managed within the clan. The Squirrel brand is famous in Konoha as the leading technology inventor, the newest machinations with functions men never dream of yet desires came from the one and only factory; Kaigaku. Every product the factory ever produces has a 'squirrel' insignia somewhere on the object.

The Nara's herbologies, Akimichi's cuisines, Yamanaka's flowers and Kaigaku's factory are some of the biggest business in Konohagakure.

All in all, the Kaigaku is pretty well-known within the village's walls.

 **|_O_|**

"Ne, Yuuwa? Are you coming to the meeting later?" little blond girl questions her bestest of friend of three years. She has stopped calling her friend with the suffix '-chan' because she thinks it suits her better this way.

Although their first playdates years ago are arranged by their fathers, the two girls have decided to continue playing together because they like it. Well, Ino does. Yuuwa doesn't have it in her to say 'no' when prompted if she wants to play again the first time and the hundreds next.

"Father says I have to. Are you not attending, Ino-chan?" she replies with softer voice that the wind carries effortlessly.

Ino blows raspberry at this, huffing. "You're always so formal, Yuuwa! But you're still my best friend, so it's okay!" she chirps. This is her other reason to drop the suffix, to break her of the formalities.

"...U-Uh." she blushes.

Yuuwa still isn't used to friendly interactions with children her age because there are only children older than her by a few years and thus attending the Academy, believing non-Academy students are just not worth their time, while others are too young to talk with in her clan. Ino is the only one.

"Anyway, I heard Daddy's teammates have sons, and they are going too. A Nara and an Akimichi. I wonder what they're like." she shrugs her shoulders, not expecting much.

Nara is supposedly lazy and Akimichi just doesn't suit her preferences for a friend. That's what she heard anyway.

 _'Daddy.'_ that's another thing to add to their differences. Ino refers to her father affectionately and childishly even at the age of six-years-old like when they first met, while Yuuwa is 'overly' formal like the blond always says, for all the times she can remember, her father has always been 'Father'. It's just how the clan is, formal.

"It's going to be _soooo_ boring!" Ino whines with a pout. She knows she can't escape from the dreaded meeting because she is a clan heiress.

Usually, she likes the prospect of meeting new people and talking with them but this meeting just spells 'boring' with all the tradition and formality. Her daddy's teammates are clan heads, like her daddy and Yuuwa's father, so this meeting is important.

It isn't everyday that clan heirs and heiresses are born in the same time frame, much less in the same year. So the meeting tonight is kind of important.

"Maybe they like flowers?" Yuuwa tries suggesting with a smile as she gently picks a pink cosmos, a flower she likes most.

The love for flowers is another she picks up from her best friend, Ino's family owns a florist and the girl adores flowers to the bits, and in turns, shares it with her. There's nothing Ino doesn't know of Konoha's flowers, down right to its meanings and various uses. And with her blabbering as she tries to memorise them all, Yuuwa remembers each words.

"As long as it's not dandelion they like." she huffs, her own tiny hands expertly weaving flower crown with pink cosmos, white daisy and violet, the last being her personal favourite.

The sudden change in tone surprises her, especially since this is about flowers, something Ino loves to the moon and back.

"Why not dandelion? It's pretty." she blinks in bewilderment.

Ino huffs again, momentarily stopping her working hands as she turns her undivided attention to her clueless friend.

"Listen, okay? Dandelion is generally considered as a _weed_ , not even a flower. Add to that, dandelion doesn't have an official meaning. Well, it has several medicinal uses, but don't most flowers?" she shrugs before returning to her nearly finished work.

This knowledge, Ino doesn't doubt her friend will remember for life. It's just how she is. According to her Daddy, their impeccable memory is the most precious to a Kaigaku. At first, she is envious that her brunette friend can remember everything she only hears once, read or anything else, but **once**. She has difficulties trying to memorise all those flowers and Yuuwa has it easy.

After pondering it for days and asking her friend about it, she comes to a conclusion that it isn't as nice as she makes it to be. Her friend literally can't forget, good things and bad things, big or small, significant or not. That's just information overload. Ino isn't sure she wants it after learning that her friend has to sit on end for hours to sort whatever informations she acquires in the day or face the consequences.

Yuuwa looks down on her own flower crown in progress, something she learns doing from Ino, a single dandelion is to finish her work as the last stalk of 'flower' amongst the pink and red cosmos. She smiles softly.

 _"I still think it's nice..."_ she whispers to herself, letting the wind carries her words.

The single white amongst the pink and red appeals to her and despite what Ino tells her, this time, Yuuwa can't find it to agree. She finds dandelion pretty even when her flower expert friend states it's not even a flower. And besides, when dandelion blooms and the winds carries it away, it will liven up the areas it lands on.

Life, it will bring.

The sudden gushes of wind takes the seeds of the dandelion she just finished weaving into her flower crown, leaving it bare and less appealing especially to Ino. It carries along her words of compliment for the 'weed' and rustles the blonde's unclipped locks framing the right side of her face.

"Did you just say something?" she drops her finished flower crown to her laps as she pats down her hair, giving sideway glance at her friend.

The brunette watches the white dandelion seeds dancing across the gentle breeze and soon fly further away to a new place to make home. She shakes her head, turning to face Ino.

"Nothing." she smiles a bit mysteriously.

Ino knows her friend said something, but she shrugs it off, believing that it truly was nothing of importance. Besides, she has boring meeting to think about. Which now that she remembers it...

"Can't I just pretend sick?" she huffs in annoyance, to her friend's soft giggles.

 **|_O_|**

Night comes sooner than one blonde girl likes it as she is cladded in beautiful kimono of exquisite quality to show her status as the clan heiress. All _those_ formalities.

"Is Yuuwa here yet?" Ino almost grumbles, already starting to feel bored and she hasn't seen her best friend anywhere.

Her Daddy can't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, or lack thereof, his hand gently encompassing one of hers. Her Mommy has her other hand, and is currently squeezing her hand as a response to her earlier question.

"Ino, we've gone through this and you're going to be a good girl and play with them. I honestly don't see why you act like this when you usually like gathering." her Mommy softly admonishes her, like the past five hours.

Her Mommy sighs, tired. "And to answer your question, I'm sure Yuuwa-chan is already here somewhere because you made it hard for us to leave sooner."

For probably the first time since the past five hours, Ino lit up with a brilliant smile. "Really? Can I go look for Yuuwa?" she musters her best puppy-eyes.

"Oh, now you! Stop that! And you already know I can't stop you." her Mommy responds with feigned anger, something both of them know.

Ino grins at this, she knows her parents won't stop her and they know it too. "I'm going then! See ya, Daddy, Mommy!" she waves cheerfully, skipping into a distance opposite to where the crowds of children.

"...That daughter of yours." Yamanaka Shiori sighs helplessly next to her husband.

"Is lovely. And don't forget adorable." Inoichi continues playfully with a teasing smile at his wife.

In response, he receives a playful, not-so-soft nudge to his side as his wife walks away.

The meeting is hosted by the Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka and Kaigaku but for convenience reason, it is held in the yard of the Nara which is most spacious before the forest it shares with the Kaigaku. The light is dim and the noise is not helping, but Ino is sure she can locate her best friend just about anywhere.

First, to explain why she goes the opposite way of where the children gather. Yuuwa isn't exactly a people-person, she is quite shy and reserved and definitely doesn't enjoy questionings from strangers, something she is sure to get from, of course, strangers to get to know her better and pass that stage of 'strangers'. Which is why the brunette has it hard to add even one more person to her sparse friend list.

However, even when her friend shies away from crowds, she doesn't stay away from them, not exactly anyway. Ino notices that whenever they play in the bustling streets of Konoha, the brunette always has _this_ look in her eyes as she does 'people-watching'. It's her hobby, she notes. Just as she likes learning of flowers, Yuuwa likes learning of people through observation. Which is why she knows that her friend won't be that far from the crowds.

 _Aha!_ There she is! Like always, the girl finds herself a place where she is not hidden but veiled by her surroundings as her chocolate brown hair blends with the brown tree's bark and her clothing compliment her environment, disguising her presence from those who don't know where and what to look.

"Yuuwa!" she calls out exuberantly, running to a stop to her friend who perks up at her shout.

"Ino-chan. Good evening." the little brunette smiles with the slightest nod of head, a manner she's been taught to perfect.

Ino, with her less fondness for all those stuffy gestures, returns her greeting with a grin. "Hello to you too, Yuuwa! Have you been here long?" she moves to stand next to her friend, leaning her back against the tree.

Yuuwa shakes her head, her eyes returning to observe the group of children, some younger than her and some older. "No. It has only been ten minutes."

Copying her movement, the blonde joins her friend in the 'people-watching'. Unlike her though, she is looking for someones in particular.

"So... you see them yet?" she hums before drawling, casting a sideway glance through her peripheral vision.

It takes a while for her to response, but she eventually does. Yuuwa tends to focus on one thing and ignores the other, a habit she is trying to break for years now. It has gotten better, but it's still there. Hopefully not to stay.

"Ah. Your father teammates' sons? I don't think I have seen them, but they are probably here already. I saw Chōza-sama with Shikaku-sama when I came with my Father." she stops her watching, knowing Ino, she will make her follow whatever she is about to do.

A grin finds its way to the blonde's face, one too familiar for the brunette next to her. "Let's look for them! They are clan heirs, like us! Aren't you curious?" she prods, pushing herself away from the tree she was leaning on.

Yuuwa only smiles softly, she never truly grins like her friend does. "I suppose. Where do you suggest we look?" she asks as she trails after the blonde, her hand in hers.

"Well, you don't think they're in the crowds, right? And you didn't see them in the ten minutes you were 'people-watching' where you doubtlessly looks around as far as your eyes can see. Meaning, they're somewhere your eyes can't reach. Like behind your back."

Ino supplies as she leads the girl further into the compound with less children and more adults, but not delving deeper into the forest. She is used to being the head of the two since Yuuwa prefers to follow along her whims, but certainly, the latter is more knowledgeable and perhaps smarter.

Soft humming is the response to her thoughts and within few minutes of walking and through searching, the pair spots two tiny figures by a huge tree in the clearing separate from the trees in the forest. One seems to be lying on his back, his eyes half-opened if not closed. The other appears to be actively munching on whatever he can get.

Already Ino doesn't like them, but for the sake of her curiosity and perhaps to add another to her best friend's friend list, she perseveres and trots on. The soft rustle of the girls' steps against the blades of grass alerts the boys, the awkwardly-styled boy more than the chubby one. Awkward, because his hair is tied to a spiky ponytail that just doesn't win any fashion points from her.

Yuuwa faithfully follows after her friend's footsteps and finds her feet stopping before a pair of boys seemingly her age. She soon catches the dark inquisitive gaze of equally dark-haired boy, his eyes gleaming with something she couldn't quite place and rarely seen amongst children; intelligence, she later realises when their brief stare-off is broken by Ino's introduction.

"Hi there! My name's Yamanaka Ino, you two are Daddy teammates' sons, aren't you?" the blonde girl begins with cheerful and friendly countenance despite her initial doubts. She nudges her friend to continue where she left off.

"O-Oh, m-my name is Kaigaku Yuuwa. U-Uh, i-it's nice to meet you two..." she stutters, like she always does in the presences of those she doesn't know well, bowing her head as to show her manner.

The two boys don't respond immediately to the girls' introductions, the chubby one with light brown hair, also spiky, stops his munching but appears hesitant to say something as he keeps on glancing to the other boy, as if expecting him to speak first.

The other boy, Ino doesn't like more than the chubby one, has this bored gaze resting on hers, after a subtle glance at her best friend, she notices. She waits for him to speak, as impatient as she is, only to receive a yawn from said boy. Rude. Nara for sure.

"Hello." he says finally, from his tone, he really wishes he was anywhere but in the situation he is in.

The two girls wait for him to continue, as does the boy with red swirly patterns on his cheeks. But he actually don't, only staring at her eyes. After what feels like hours, her eyes twitch and Ino knows she has reached her end point with this boy.

"That's it?! We told you our names, it's _common_ courtesy to tell yours!" she nearly yells, only keeping her tone in check because this is the son of the clan head and she is in the Nara Compound.

Ino can feel the soothing touches of her best friend trying to calm her, she always does whenever she's near her breaking point of exploding. _Grr..._ If this is not the Nara Compound and Yuuwa isn't here, she might just tear into this rude boy.

Apparently the same boy can feel her rage building because he quickly corrects himself, albeit less polite. "Troublesome. Nara Shikamaru." he mutters, turning his gaze to his friend.

Understanding the silent gesture, the chubby boy stood up to bow his head, unlike his mannerless friend. "U-Uh, I'm Akimichi Chōji! It's nice to meet you...!" he sounds more eager than his friend for sure.

He even offers his hand for a handshake. Too bad that Ino knows he eats with the same hands and doesn't bother cleaning them first before offering his hand. He realises this too, albeit late. She feels a little bad when his hand slowly descends, but that's just... _eww._

Even so, his hand eventually finds _another_ to grasp it, softer looking and definitely clean moments before he retracts it.

"I-It's nice to meet you too, Chōji-san." the little brunette smiles with colour filling her cheeks, her hand gently shaking the bewildered boy.

 _His hands are greasy..._ she notices, she can see why Ino doesn't want to shake hand. However, she also see how dejected he is after he is refused and Yuuwa can't bring herself to see him sad. It will _forever_ be etched into her memory. He doesn't seem bad, in fact, he seems sweet and nice. She won't do this the second time but the first time, she can accept.

Chōji is noticeably shocked, his eyes wide with unconcealed surprise. He doesn't shake with her but his hand went along her movements. "Y-You too, Y-Yuuwa-chan...!" he finally replies.

It is unexpected, but not unwelcome for Chōji. He always thought that only Shikamaru will tolerate him and be his friend because other children shuns him for his abundant weight and what comes with it. He was denied a game of shinobi when he first met the lethargic boy. And today, he finally meets another one he can call a friend other then the Nara.

From what he notices, she is kind of like him, shy and less active, more passive. As he tends to follow after his friend's lead, so does she.

Somehow, Ino knows it's going to turn out this way when she rejects the boy's hand shake. A sideway peek at her friend confirms her thoughts, Yuuwa dislikes making anyone sad, whoever that is. From the years the two spend together, the brunette always tries to stay clear of sadness. Probably because her friend will never be able to forget the sad expression of people, thus her extreme reluctance to cause it, not to mention, the guilt.

Well, at least she doesn't have to feel as guilty because her friend saves the day by sacrificing the sanitation of her hands.

Shikamaru is blinking his bewilderment away and along with it, his drowsiness. The blonde one, Ino, seems like your typical girl. Loud. Prissy. And generally, troublesome. The brunette one appears to be more quiet, but still, troublesome. Girls are troublesome, no exception. However, this Yuuwa girl seems to be different, albeit the slightest. She is bothered with Chōji's oily hands too, he knows, but still, she takes his hand if only to deny his sadness.

 _She is a Kaigaku,_ he recalls from her introduction earlier. Meaning, there is a wealth of knowledge hidden in the depths of her mind waiting for someone to exploit them, and her noisy blonde friend would earn the privilege of accessing them. Maybe he can take a little peek if they are closer?

 _Nah. It's troublesome._

* * *

 _So yeah, how is it?_

 _I'm currently stuck on how to continue Blue Sky because I don't know Uchiha Shisui's character._ _I'm not sure which episode of Naruto can tell me about it. If it come down to it, I'll just go with what I derive from other_ _fan fictions._

 _Oh, and expect updates on Dreams of Life and My Dignified Imouto soon! Two days away perhaps?_


End file.
